Rowers teiken Klein - Letaba Herald

LETTERS
A FEW DECADES ago, poliomyelitis was one
of the world’s dread diseases.
It would occur in epidemics and we would
all worry that it would strike one of our
children and leave them dead or in a wheelchair
with a paralysis. Not a few adults were
hit by it too.
One of my best friends contracted it while
working in London and was left with badly
paralysed facial muscles. It affects the respiratory
system and the Iron Lung was created
to help the victims breathe. Then, along came
the Salk Vaccine and today it is a compulsory
immunisation for pre-school children in most
countries around the world.
Having said that, polio has not been entirely
eliminated and last year some 2000 cases
were reported by the World Health Organisation,
which has carried out a mass innoculation
campaign around the world which
reduced known cases by 99 percent. By
contrast, Aids and malaria killed more than 3
million people - many of them in our part of
the world.
So, it is interesting to note that in a bid to
declare the world polio-free – as is the casewith
small pox – the Bill Gates Foundation has
joined the final fight against polio by contributing
$255 million to the huge $630 million
fund established for this purpose by the
Rotary Foundation of Britain and Germany.
The fact is that, although the incidence has
been vastly reduced, it is a tenacious beast, as
it spreads easily and quickly through contact
and water, and it is not clear if a massive
infusion of funds by the Bill Gates of this world
will achieve total eradication. Only one in 200
children who contract the virus show the
paralysis symptoms, leaving the other 199 as
silent carriers.
Polio cases dropped to about 1600 last year
– compared to 350 000 in 1988 – but it persists
in some poor, densely populated countries
such as Nigeria and northern India. Polio
vaccines are not delivered reliably to 20 to 30
percent of children in these areas Illiteracy and
lack of trust in corrupt authorities are to
blame.
In another typically African problem, inoculations
in a Nigerian province came to a
halt in 2003 when rumours spread among
tribespeople that the vaccine caused sterility.
This is akin to the popular concept that sex
with a virgin prevents Aids.
Conrad sê dankie
CONRAD KRüGER, voorsitter van die
Tzaneense Sakekamer, skryf: Vrydag is die
jaarlikse aand-gholf van die Tzaneense
Sakekamer by die Tzaneense Buiteklub aangebied
en was dit weer ‘n baie groot sukses.
‘n Geleentheid soos diè kan egter net sukses
bereik met die steun van ‘n verskeidenheid
mense en besighede en daarom wil ek en my
bestuur graag ons dank teenoor die volgende
borge uitspreek wat spanne ingeskryf het en
dus ‘n groot aandeel in ons sukses gehad
het:
Aida, Blaizepoint, FNB, Coke, Westfalia,
Charles Tosen en Alert Staal, Transletaba Paneelkloppers,
Simpson Motors, Mazfor Motors,
Paint Pot, Golden Acres, Paint Pot
Phalaborwa, Tzaneen Toyota, Tzaneen Country
Lodge, Noordchem, Ferreira, Venter, Laws
& Nel en dan, ons hoofborg van die aand,
E-Bearing, wat ‘n nuwe besigheid in die dorp is
en ook ‘n nuwe lid van ons Sakekamer.
Ons het ook borge gehad wat pryse en
finansieël bygedra het en hier bedank ons
graag vir Nashua, Aqua Cell, MTN, SA
Rally span bedank borge
DIE Simpson Motors rally span
wil graag al hul borge vir die
Bathroom Bizarre Tzaneen Rally
bedank:
Motormaster Panelbeaters,
Misty River Spur, Romans Pizza
God’s Haven bedank donateurs
DIE bestuur en inwoners van
God’s Haven skryf: Baie dankie
aan alle donateurs wat so getrou
donasies skenk.
Sonder die gebaar sal dit vir die
inwoners baie moeiliker wees om
gevoed en geklee te word,
aangesien God’s Haven nie ‘n
winsgewende organisasie is nie
en na behoeftige en ander bejaardes
omsien.
Die bederfies soos sang en musiek
optredes, ‘n klein geskenkie,
waslappie of lekkertjie is vir hulle
‘n fees.
Tannie Tienie Stoltz wat elke
week getrou ‘n gebed of twee
kom doen en ‘n paar geestelike
gedagtes deel, is onmisbaar. Daar
bestaan egter nog ‘n groot leemte
aan die besoek deur geestelike
leiers in die gemeenskap.
Aan die volgende persone ‘n
hartlike dank vir hulle bydrae:
Johan en Rachel Kirstein, Gawie
Stoltz, Rob Spices, Universal Pal-
LETABA HERALD - Vrydag 22 Mei 2009
No, polio is still a ‘dread disease’
in some parts of the world
Brouerye, Coke, Aida, LETABA HERALD,
Forms Media, Romans Pizza, Vixtrix Signs,
Paint Pot, Biltong & Braai, Lannie Motors,
Mazfor en weer eens vir E-Bearing.
Vir die soveelste keer was Zirk Büys weer
vriendelik genoeg om na die aandete om te
sien en het hy saam met Tobie Engelbrecht
weer uitmuntende diens met die spitbraaie
gelewer en seker gemaak dat almal ‘n smaakvolle
aandete geniet. ‘n Spesiale woord van
dank ook aan Mike van Paint Pot Phalaborwa
wat spontaan en baie bedrewe al die vleis help
opsny en voorsit het.
Ons dank ook aan Marius van die kombuis
by die gholfklub en sy personeel en dan ook ‘n
hartlike woord van dank aan al my bestuurslede
wat baie hard gewerk het om verder
tot die sukses van die dag by te dra.
Daar is sekerlik mense wat agter die skerms
en onopsigtelik ook baie hard gewerk of ‘n
ander vorm van bydrae gelewer het en vir
hulle sê ons ook graag baie dankie.
Sien julle volgende jaar weer!
Tzaneen, Megalube Tzaneen,
Speedy Phalaborwa, en Letaba
Herald.
Almal se borge en bydrae word
opreg waardeer, en het bygedra
tot ‘n baie suksesvolle dag.
lets, Dr’s Spies en Vennote, annoniem
vir groente en vrugte,
annoniem vir linne, Wilna Strydom
vir musiek en vermaak.
Dinamus, mev Coetzee, mev
Harrison, Peet Hoyer, Tzaneen
Koelkamers, NG Moedergemeente,
AP gemeente, Flo, Johan
van Biltong & Braai, mev
Kotze, Coca Cola, Dries Young,
Fruit & Veg en Suzette
Schonken.
Dankie ook aan alle lede wat
met allerande takies help, soos
om tuinvullis te verwyder en teëls
te lê.
God’s Haven se bestuurspan,
almal vrywilligers, is altyd gereed
om enige taak te verrig.
God’s Haven is voorwaar ‘n
plek waar God se krag en genade
vrylik beweeg.
Enige persoon is welkom om
enige tyd ‘n besoek by ons te kom
aflê.
Worse was to follow the 2003 hiatus in
Nigeria, when the polio virus ‘exploded’
across the borders into 30 neighbouring African
countries, where it had previously been
eliminated. The cost of eradication is put at
about $1 billion. A problem in northern India
is that the vaccine was found to be only
partially effective. It is suspected that the
typical child in the region harbours so many
intestinal bugs that their systems fail to recognize
the vaccine.
While a child in Europe or the United States
requires three doses of the oral vaccine to gain
immunity, a Nigerian kid may need six and a
child in northern India may require 12. Delivering
this much medicine and keeping track
of the recipients is a staggering logistical
challenge.
The polio effort, which began 21 years ago,
is costing $600 million a year with no end in
sight. The WHO thinks it will be ‘at least five
years’ before an aggressive inoculation campaign
can be relaxed. That’s assuming there is
no decrease in the funding rate. It looks as
though Gates and the other donors will need
to keep dipping in their pockets!
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