Planting hope

This spring in Malton, Norton and Old Malton visitors will see crocuses blooming along the Derwent riverbank and in the Castle Gardens and the grounds of St Mary’s Church. These harbingers of better weather can often be seen in profusion in yellow, white and purple, but in 2024 the purple ones will be present in unusual numbers. What is going on?

In the UK we almost take it for granted that ‘dread diseases’, such as poliomyelitis (‘polio’) can now be routinely managed using childhood vaccination. In parts of the world worst affected by polio the vaccine availability depends on outside assistance and it is challenging to keep track of who has been treated and who has not. When people queue up, those to be treated are distinguished from the others by placing a spot of purple dye on the fingertip of each person as they are vaccinated. Purple has become the colour of hope for these communities.

Rotary International have been campaigning to eradicate the disease for nearly four decades. Part of the public face of the work to raise funds is the planting of crocuses. Local Rotarians have just completed their annual contribution with the purchase and planting of 4,000 purple crocuses in our towns with the proceeds going to support the vaccination programme. When the flowers open, they will be a lovely and visible link to the lives saved by the programme.