Priest paralysed by polio appeals to parents

National

A CATHOLIC priest who was a victim of polio during his childhood days in Southern Highlands is appealing to parents to have their children under 15 vaccinated against the disease.
Fr Isaiah Timb, priest of Kumin Catholic Parish in Mendi, said he was living with a permanent disability to his right arm caused by polio during the 1980s.
He urged schools, churches, community groups and others to ensure that children under their care were vaccinated against polio and not become like him.
Timb made the appeal when supporting round four of the polio vaccination campaign.
“Whether you are living in rural or urban centres, I urge you to take your children to the nearest clinic and get vaccination,” he said.
Timb said polio was a very dangerous disease that could cause permanent damage to body parts of young children.
He said when he was born in 1970 at Idawi village, the nearest health centre was in Koroba, 10-hours walking distance, and he was never taken there to get polio vaccination.
Timb said that when his family moved to Erave, where his father become a catechist in a church, he was struck with polio on his right arm.
He was referred to Mendi hospital where he was told that he had fully-blown polio.
“That’s how I ended up having a permanent paralysed arm caused by polio,” Timb said.