Immunizations Days in Niger

I am a member of the Dowagiac, Michigan Rotary club. As a Rotary club member I can volunteer with Rotary International and be a part of their humanitarian efforts. As a Rotary volunteer I am able to administer the polio vaccine to children with limited access to vaccines. As such, I help to give a mother, a family, a community, and hopefully an entire nation the opportunity to live a polio-free life. The simple act of administering vaccine gives me great personal joy and satisfaction to know that I have contributed toward creating a healthy child, a healthy family and a better world.

Seeing a child’s smile, seeing a mother’s pride in her family makes my life worth living. I enjoy interacting with healthy, energetic children. It does not matter the color of a child’s skin or what language they speak. I find great discomfort when I encounter a child sick or suffering from a totally preventable disease.

I have been a team leader for 15 Polio Eradication National Immunization Rotary Volunteer Teams. Most of my travels have been to India, but I have also traveled to Nigeria, Mali, and Egypt and previously to Niger. Often volunteers administer vitamins along with vaccines. NID volunteers end up assisting local Rotarians in drilling deep, freshwater wells, providing books, clothing and medicine to orphanages and schools, purchasing wheelchairs, hospital equipment, ambulances or corrective surgeries funded by themselves or their Rotary clubs through the Rotary Foundation with matching grants or as a World Community Service project.

It is a joy to return to Niger and once again work with the Rotarians and Rotary clubs of Niger; working side-by-side with old friends and new, sharing our dreams for healthy Niger children.

Rotary clubs and Rotarians are good neighbors to children wherever they live. As a volunteer I experience firsthand a mother’s joy, her smile and a “thank-you” Rotary. These small acts of international kindness can lead to a better way – a more tolerant and peaceful world. I am proud to be a Rotarian, a Rotary volunteer and a supporter of Rotary International’s goal for a Polio-Free world. My Thanksgiving and Christmas will be very special thanks to Rotary.

-Dave Groner
Rotary Club of Dowagiac, Michigan, District 6360