“Polio is a calamity; the only way to safeguard our children from this calamity is vaccination”
Saeed Zabulai
Helmand, Afghanistan – Zargay, a 35-year-old resident of the Tortank area in Lashkar Gah, the center of Helmand province, and a polio victim himself, states that polio will continue to endanger the lives of Afghanistan’s children unless we all unite in the fight against it.
Zargay, who endures the anguish and disability inflicted by polio firsthand, views it as a grave calamity. He believes that vaccination is the only way to safeguard children from this disease.
He said, “I don’t remember exactly when I got polio, but my family told me that I was three years old when I contracted this debilitating disease.”
He says that, as a result, his right leg became paralyzed, rendering his life incomplete
Zargay states that he has endured immense hardships and poverty in life due to his polio-induced disability.
This father of four sons and three daughters, despite being disabled and unable to perform heavy labor, has opened a small shop selling vegetables and pickles in the center of the village to provide for his family.
Zargay asserted that his small shop has given him a platform to advocate for vaccination. Whenever a customer visits his shop, he reminds them to vaccinate their children during every polio vaccination campaign, and safeguard them from the hardships he has endured.
35-year-old Zargay, who was infected by polio at the age of three, leading to the paralysis of his legs, has opened a small shop of vegetables and pickles in the middle of his village, through which he provides for his family © Polio free Afghanistan /2024/ Saeed Zabulai
Zargay highlights that his personal experience with polio, which resulted in his disability, drives his dedication to this cause.
He said, looking at his exhausting life, that he hopes for polio to be eradicated from Afghanistan, sparing every child from its devastating impact.
According to him, achieving this requires uniting the people in the fight against the disease and ensuring that every child receives the polio vaccine.
Haji Abdul Ghaffar, approximately 40 years old, is a resident of this village and a neighbor of Zargay.
He mentions that upon witnessing Zargay’s exhausting state, everyone in the village ensures regular vaccination for their children, leaving no child unvaccinated.
As per his account, numerous villagers now understand that polio is a disease that causes permanent paralysis in children.
According to him, while the rest of the world, including Islamic countries, has successfully eradicated polio through vaccination, children in Afghanistan continue to face the threat of this virus. It is our religious duty to safeguard our children from polio and ensure they receive regular vaccinations.
