Arndt

A Thousand Oaks resident is giving herself a unique Valentine's Day present by giving to others.

Vicki Arndt, president of the Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks, is on a 10-day trip that began Tuesday to the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, where she will help provide polio immunizations to impoverished children.

The financial planner's destination has been identified by the club as the most highly populated area in the world "facing a polio menace," according to Rotarian Stan Cowan.

Arndt is paying more than $4,000 to send herself to National Immunization Days, an annual worldwide immunization program. Rotary International plays a top role along with WHO, UNICEF, CDC and other world health leaders, Cowan said. Rotary International initiated its "Stamp Out Polio" undertaking in 1988, a complement to several tiers of Indian national and state agencies or departments assisting, including underwriting vaccine costs, he said.

Uttar Pradesh occupies a large swath of northeastern India and has eight cities with populations of more than 1 million, Cowan said.

A dozen Rotarians taking trip

Arndt will be one of a dozen Rotarians traveling from Rotary District 5240, which spans 73 clubs in Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Also attending will be Anil Garg of Simi Valley, Arndt said.

"I've done a lot of reading, and while I've done quite a bit of traveling myself, I am nervous about this trip," Arndt said. "I'm sure what I'll be seeing may be hard to absorb, and I know I'll come back changed."

Once in Delhi, Arndt and colleagues head to various cities, where they will receive room and board from Uttar Pradesh Rotarians.

During the days, Arndt anticipates being at clinics where groups of children are assembled; the group will also go door to door.

Currently, two countries are hosting National Immunization Days, India and Nigeria. The two countries have the largest incidence of the wild polio virus, she said. In addition, these countries, plus Pakistan and Afghanistan "are the only remaining countries with the wild polio virus."

Arndt called the U.S. government the largest funding source for polio eradication, followed by Rotary International.

The effort to erase polio is "highly political. Rotary International is the only nongovernmental organization to participate in this effort. The funding provided by RI goes into the immense public relations and education necessary to overcome religious and political biases that keep parents from immunizing their children," Arndt said.

An example she gave occurred in Nigeria, where "mothers were told the polio vaccine would leave their children sterile for a period of time," and immunization efforts were halted.

$550 million to fight polio

"Rotary International can go, through local volunteers, into areas that other states agencies cannot," Arndt said.

When Rotary International planted the seeds to tackle polio, there were more than 350,000 cases worldwide. Today, fewer than 1,000 have been reported globally, and Rotary International alone has given more than $550 million.

Still, "we are so close to the finish line we can see it, but that is the time we must be hyper-vigilant to make sure we get there."

"Uttar Pradesh is one of the poorest states in India," said Arndt, who said that, as an ambassador, she'll be taking along happy face stickers and balloons to give out.

Arndt's missionary work won't end with the shots.

She'll be giving herself a philosophical shot in the arm by extending her visit for a side trip to Calcutta to see a girls' school founded by Deepa Willingham, a native of India and past president of the Solvang Rotary Club.

"Girls are not as highly valued as boys in India, and children from poor families are sold every day into sex slavery," she said.

"Through Deepa's efforts, the school now has over 100 girls saved from an abominable existence."