Weeks 34-35, February 20-March 6, 2011

I left the US on February 23 for a Rotary NID trip to India. The entire experience was unforgettable. Our group consisted of 23 from all over the world. We had four people from Finland including an eleven year old, two from Australia including a PDG, one from New Zealand, five from our own district and the remainder from my classmate, Cynde Covington's district in Northeast Florida. The four from our district included Charles Warne, president of the Greenville club, Surendra Jain, past president of the Greenville club, Neeli Jain, Greenville Evening club, Spencer Anderson, past president of the Rock Hill club and I. We began our journey in Delhi and then moved to Chandigarh where we were hosted for four nights with fellow Rotarians. The official NID day was February 27. We spent all day visiting the various booths as the polio vaccine was administered. Each of us were able to administer the vaccine to children. February 28-29 were considered "mop up" days as we went door to door in the slums. Additionally, we visited schools and hospitals in Panupat and Ambula. We returned to Delhi for two days of sightseeing then spent our final night in Agara visiting the Taj Mahal. It was an awesome experience. Out of this experience we built better friendships the Rotary way. Additionally we were able to develop a relationship with a Rotary sponsored Cancer hospital in Ambula and will be applying for a matching grant to help them purchase a much-needed piece of equipment. It is good to be home but I am so glad that I was able to participate in this experience.