Published Dec. 22, 2004, in the Kirksville Daily Express

Story by Matthew Webber

ATLANTA, Mo. - A northeast Missouri couple returned this week from administering vaccines to children in Africa.

From Dec. 13-19, Dan and Lisa Gaughan of Atlanta, Mo., traveled through villages in Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo giving children medicines for polio, measles and intestinal parasites. The Gaughans and other members of Rotary International and other organizations also distributed vitamin A, mosquito nets, medical supplies and toys.

Although many Americans believe polio has been eradicated, the disease still exists in some of these countries' most remote areas, the Gaughans said.

Not only do these countries lack medicines and medical supplies, they sometimes lack sanitary drinking water.

"There'd be children bathing, cattle drinking, people fishing [in the water supply]," Dan Gaughan said. "It's contaminated. It's not like, OK, you turn a spigot and you fill a sanitary water jug to take home. They walk into the water, dip a bucket of water, put it on their head, and go off."

The group also encountered illiteracy, fuel shortages and terrible road conditions - as well as friendly, helpful locals who helped distribute the medicines. These trained health workers and the records they keep are signs the region's health is improving.

Still, the volunteers found many people who were unaware of their own health concerns, Dan Gaughan said.

"Some of the people didn't understand why the children needed to be immunized, because they weren't sick," he said. "[We had] to get them to understand that this is to keep them from getting sick."

Once they understood why the group was there, the children and their families were always thankful for the medicine and gifts, Lisa Gaughan said.

"They were so grateful for it," she said. "You had to really be careful and not start passing out stuff until you got ready to leave, because word spread. If there were three kids there and you gave them something, within a matter of minutes, you'd have 25 kids there. It was just amazing how word spread and they would just come."

The Gaughans said they had wanted to take the trip ever since Dan Gaughan joined the Kirksville Thousand Hills Rotary Club and heard about Rotary's mission. Rotary International has been immunizing people since 1985 in an attempt to eradicate the disease by 2005.

"I have always been impressed with that being one of the things Rotary is involved in, I just kind of wanted to be involved," Dan Gaughan said.

Now that he has involved himself with Rotary's polio campaign, Dan Gaughan appreciates its successes even more.

"There was a tremendous amount of effort put into getting the word out to the people there," he said.