Big-hearted David Hawkin and Carol Jordan are jetting off to India in a bid to save thousands of children from a crippling disease.
The pair have saved £3,000 to self-fund a two-week trip to Kerala in South India.
There they will help administer a vaccine against polio to thousands of youngsters to protect them against Polio.
David and Carol, who are Roundhay Rotary Club members, are due to travel as part of a team of 34 other volunteers - mostly from Yorkshire - on January 20.
David, 39, a pharmacist from Bramhope, said by administering vaccination drops to children under the age of five, their efforts will help keep India free from the highly infectious disease.
He said: “Polio has been consigned to history in the UK.
“But currently the disease is endemic in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
“India, which was an endemic country, has successfully eradicated the disease.
“In the last two years there have been no new cases in that vast country thanks to mass immunisation of all children under five.
“If there are no new cases for another year, there may be no need for such national immunisation campaigns.”
The humanitarian effort has been organised by Rotary International - a global group committed to improving the world.
David added: “A polio-free world was a vision Rotary International embraced 25 years ago.
“And since then its members have raised billions and have invested millions of voluntary hours to ensure mass vaccinations.
“We are on the brink of making history by beating polio once and for all.
“All but 0.1 per cent of polio has been eradicated globally.”
Rotary have so far protected two billion children from polio.
Around five million have been spared from disability as a result of their work.
Polio is an acute, viral, infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily through poor hygiene.
The most common form is spinal polio, which affects the movement of the sufferer’s legs.





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