Why do Rotarians have purple pinkies in October? What does it mean to you?
As you may know, October is Polio Awareness Month. So, naturally, the purple pinkies MUST be related to that. But how?
When Rotarians go on polio vaccination trips around the world, they need an accurate system to track which children have been vaccinated and need a second dose. Often the next vaccination team that goes through that area is not the same team. To solve the problem of how to communicate vaccination status in countries where medical records and street addresses are not utilized, they came up with the system of the purple pinkie. Once a child is vaccinated, the team dies the tip of their pinkie purple. The dye lasts long enough for the next vaccination team to come through and see. On average, most people can effectively be vaccinated after two doses.
To recognize this practice and honor the efforts of the vaccination teams, when donations are made to the PolioPlus fund in October, the donor has the option to have their pinkie fingernail painted purple. This simple act communicates support of the PolioPlus fund and the eradication efforts. It also serves as a conversation piece and allows Rotarians to share this project with other members of the community.
So, I encourage you to make a donation to PolioPlus, get your pinkie painted purple, and spread the word to help us eradicate polio once and for all.