Web sites

I found two good web sites.
http://www.taj-mahal.net/blackLarge.htm which has 360 views of the Taj Mahal. Incredibleindia.org is the official web site for India. It is full of travel ads, but has good info on India.

I found out that the current weather in Dehli us 80 F.

Roy

A Bit more about our Mission

On February 11, 2007, after a very early breakfast, our team from the USA will join members of the Rotary Club of Delhi-West, and drive to the oldest section of Delhi, where we will participate in the NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION DAY (NID). First, we will visit the distribution center, where we will observe as physicians and Rotary volunteers organize the distribution of the polio oral vaccine, to be taken to the various immunization sites throughout that section of the city. Some of us may even participate in distributing the "cold packs" of vaccine to the various sites. With this oral vaccine, it is imperative that the vaccine be kept cool, so it is packed in ice-chests, similar to our Coleman picnic chests. When "opening time" arrives, each site will have a ledger containing the names of all children within that neighborhood or sector of the city. INTERACT members from the local high school will be at each site to lend a hand with the tallying to record each immunized child. All children under the age of five years are brought to the sites, sometimes by a parent, and other times by an older sister or brother. When they reach the head of the line, the child gives his or her name (which is recorded in the ledger) and then is given two drops of life-saving vaccine on the tongue, the finger nail of the little finger on one hand is "painted" with gentian violet tincture, which stains the nail for a period of up to two weeks, so that over-enthusiastic children do not go to another site to have a second dose! The children are usually given a sticker for their shirts, and possibly a trinket from one of the members of the NID team from the USA.

After each does of vaccine is given, the volunteer who is vaccinating the children places the vial of vaccine back onto a cake of ice, to keep it viable by maintaining a temperature below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This process is "monitored" by the fact that the vial markings change color to alert the volunteer that the vaccine temperature has risen above the 50 degrees, and must be discarded.

Generally, the immunization is completed by mid-day, with follow-up operations going into the various neighborhoods to find children who did not show up for the immunization. Volunteers go house to house, knocking on the doors, seeking those children who did not present themselves at the NID. This is the only way that we can "break the chain" of passing the polio virus on to others.

Hello

Hello team.

My name is Roy Wise. I am from the Dunwoody Rotary Club in Atlanta, GA. I have been a Rotarian for 12 years. This is my first international Rotary trip. I have two close friends who are polio victims. Both had polio before the Salk vaccine, one three weeks before the vaccine. Both have lived active lives involved in the community and their church. One is in a wheelchair and the other has a facial muscle impairment.

I want to thank Elias Thomas for making arrangements. It is great that we will see the Taj Mahal.

I have started the arrangements. I had to rush order my passport since I lost mine. This is one more time I miss the good advice of my wife who died in January 2006. She would have known where to look for it. After two days of looking, I decided to pay the price. The US post office charges $190 for a rush job. I got 5 vaccinations and will get one more. Today I made a good haul at the Dollar Store. One dollar buys lots at the store. I have 150 trinkets for children. I found a good travel book on India, "Eyewitness Guides." I recommend it. I did not find the Lonely Planet guide helpful.

Thanks to Elias for helping with my questions today.

I hope we can exchange notes on packing questions in our blogs

Regards
Roy

A FRESH START FOR 2007

In preparation for our departure on February 9th, members of our ROTARIANS FOR HOPE - INDIA 2007 Team are obtaining their necessary immunizations, checking to make sure that their Passports and VISAS are in order, and beginning to pack for the trip.

We all will be arriving in Newark on February 9th, and gathering at the Continental Airlines Terminal, and checking our bags through for this non-stop 16+ hour flight from Newark to New Delhi. Each of us has different motivation which pushes us forward to participate in these programs, and we all realize how very blessed we are to have the support of our families and friends to set out on such a venture.

The day after we arrive in New Delhi, we will join members of the Rotary Club of Delhi-West, and then drive into the oldest sections of Delhi, where we will work with other volunteers to help to immunize children against polio. This is all a part of Rotary International's efforts to eradicate polio from the face of the earth. National Immunization Days are held in several countries throughout the world, but most particularly in India and the other three areas where polio is endemic. Children under the age of five will be immunized a minimum of two times over a period of a few months, to ensure that this virus is prevented from being passed from one human being to another. In past years on the NIDs, well over 150 MILLION children have been immunized all in one day!

Following the NID, we will then travel west of New Delhi to a village - Chahalka, where we will work for the rest of the week, serving as common laborers to help construct a water sanitation facility, to provide safe and clean drinking water for the people of the village. At present, ladies are forced to wash their dishes and clothing in water provided by a sewage sump, with the further tainted water trickling into a stream that flows through the elementary school playground.

In the coming days, and throughout the trip, we will continue to share our thoughts and experiences, through these postings, along with photographs, in the hopes that family and friends will get a real sense of our mission, and to obtain feedback from you all.