“Kick Polio Out of Africa” at the BA
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Under the auspices of Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt First Lady and Chair of the BA Board of Trustees, the BA hosts on Saturday 12 June 2010, the final stage of “Kick Polio Out of Africa“ campaign, organized by Rotary International District 2450.
The Campaign was launched by Rotary International in February 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. It is symbolized by a football travelling for 4 months throughout Africa until it reaches its final destination, Alexandria, on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup that is hosted for the first time in Africa this month.
The Ceremony is attended by General Adel Labib, Governor of Alexandria; Actor Hany Salama, Polio Goodwill Ambassador; and representatives of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and international organizations, such as Rotary International, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
A number of officials will sign the ball, and a WHO documentary on polio will be also screened. Eslam El-Shatter, one of the stars of the Egyptian National Football Team, receives the ball, with the presence of polio-infected children, and kicks it from the BA Bridge, connecting the BA, Alexandria University and the Mediterranean, into the sea, a symbol of kicking polio out of Africa.
The signed ball will then travel to Montréal, Canada, to be presented in the Rotary International Convention later this June.
It is worth mentioning that the WHO declared Egypt a polio-free country in 2006.
Kick Polio Out of Africa is held at the BACC Great Hall at 3:00 pm.