Bulletin
MAY 15, 2012
Mark Perschbacher won $8.00 in today’s raffle. Happy Dollars: Ken Kurt contributed for his birthday, for opening an art gallery, and for his son opening the Ironwood Restaurant in Union Grove; John Scott contributed for being back from California where he and his wife baby-sat for their three grandchildren; Theresa Reagan contributed for her niece graduating from college, and Cathy Dempsey contributed for Theresa Reagan, who she used to work with.
VISITING ROTARIAN: Theresa Reagan, Milwaukee
Today’s speaker was Cathy Dempsey, whose topic was “Bullying.” Bullying is intentional and is repeated often. When nothing is done about bullying, it will continue. It is about power over others. Bullying is a culture in some workplaces and can be prevalent in the business world. Criticism undermines people, and happy people are more productive in the workplace. Cathy urged us all to do some self –reflection regarding our values and boundaries, and lead by example. We should observe people around us – how they interact and communicate, and listen to others.
How Do I Know There Is No Polio? By: Rotarian Chris Offer
I have often asked the question: “How do we truly know there is no polio in a particular country?” In January, I had the opportunity to find out. I arrived in Khartoum, Sudan, on 17 January as the Rotary representative on an Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance team. AFP leg and arm paralysis is one of the primary indicators of polio. In countries at risk of polio transmission, an AFP surveillance system helps ensure that a polio outbreak is caught early and stopped quickly. AFP has many causes other than polio, including Guillain Barré Syndrome, forms of tuberculosis, trauma, hypoglycemia, and others. However, to avoid missing cases of polio, all children under age 15 with AFP should be tested. After two days of meetings and security briefings, surveillance team members, which included experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traveled to each of Sudan’s 15 states. I went to the state of Kassala, which is near the border with Eritrea, and worked with CDC epidemiologist Dr. Noha Farag. We spent the next five days visiting hospitals, pediatric clinics, vaccination centers, refugee camps, health offices, and traditional healer huts. Records were reviewed, ledgers checked, and staff interviewed. We saw Rotary posters printed in Arabic that explained the symptoms of AFP and the importance of reporting cases in every site we visited. In Kassala, risk groups include nomads who wander between Libya, Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan plus migrant workers, refugees, and isolated tribal groups. Tracking AFP cases in these groups requires an extraordinary effort by the local health workers. Overall, I was impressed by the commitment to polio eradication of the local health workers I met. Rotarians should feel confident that their dollars are well spent and soundly invested in polio eradication in Sudan.