Sajjan Goenka has been fighting polio since 1983. With polio eradicated from India–and all but three other countries in the world–he confessed to me today that when he accepted the Rotary International challenge to eradicate polio, he didn’t believe it could be done. No one did, he says.
Dr. Mona Khanna of Fox 32 Chicago with Sajjan Goenka, photo by Devin Thorpe
Goenka joined Rotary in 1968 and was first exposed to Rotary’s plan to end polio in 1983. The effort was formalized in India in the late 1980’s and Goenka was there to help organize the first rallies to bring attention to the need for universal immunizations. Over the years he has served as both a Club President and a District Governor.
In the early days, he says, Rotary took 100 percent of the responsibility, providing the volunteer manpower, the money and all of the infrastructure. Over the years, the Indian government has built up its infrastructure and the Gates Foundation has provided funding to help in the war on polio. Rot…