The Tribune

HUNDREDS of Rotarians and supporters turned out for the End Polio Bed Race at the Marathon Mall on Saturday.

Organised by Joanne Smith and Paul Cartwright of the East Nassau Rotary Club, the event raised about $10,000 for Rotary International's global campaign to eradicate polio, which still strikes thousands of children in four African and Asian countries.

Over a period of three hours, competitors from four Rotary Clubs in Nassau pushed and pulled 12 custom-made beds (with at least one occupant in each) over a hundred-yard course in the mall parking lot.

The bed team sponsored by Deloitte & Touche won the day. The winning team included Carl Rolle, Theodore Williams, Keith Beneby, Jamal Ijeoma, Lowell Coleby and Benson Beneby.

Volunteers also provided street food for spectators. The event was made possible by the support of such sponsors as the Filipino Association of the Bahamas, Caribbean Bottling, Aquapure, Lickety Split, Bennigan's, the Mall at Marathon, Classic Party Rentals & Supplies, Satellite Bahamas, and Bahamas Realty.

Rotary became involved with polio eradication in 1979 when the organisation committed to immunise six million children in the Philippines.

At the time, more than 350,000 children worldwide were afflicted annually by this crippling and sometimes fatal disease.

Since then, the number of those infected has been reduced by more than 99 per cent, and to date Rotarians have helped immunise more than two billion children in 122 countries.

The Rotary Clubs of the Bahamas have contributed more than $100,000 to this worldwide effort over the years.