By Steve Barton
On January 21, 2021, we were honored to host Denny Willford, a Polio survivor who has given much of his life in the eradication of polio and improving the lives of survivors. Two drops is all it takes to never have Polio and Denny has given hundreds two drop doses to children in multiple trips to Ethiopia and Uganda.
Unfortunately, it has not always been enough. Those who do come down with polio often become what is known as crawlers, unable to walk. This condition can partially be resolved through surgery, which requires extensive rehabilitation. On of the best restoration methods is hydrotherapy. Denny and his foundation built a hydrotherapy pool to assist in just that with great results. Once rehabilitated, these former unemployable crawlers can now support themselves and their families.
Denny hasn’t stopped there. He has formed the Willford Foundation which is supplying school desks for schools in Ethiopia. To quote him: $5,000 builds a lot of desks.
Through the efforts of many Denny’s volunteering their time to provide 2 drops, worldwide polio cases were down to a handful with the goal of a polio-free world well in sight. However, due to Covid and political discord, polio immunizations have stopped for the duration of the pandemic. This has set the goal of eradication of polio back many years.
