Meet Joseph Okeny from Uganda who became sick with polio from a very young age. His parents tried to help him by taking him to the local hospital, but they could not cure his polio. He couldn’t walk and recalls the humiliation of crawling on his hands and knees to get everywhere because he had no crutches to help him get around. It made going to school very difficult.

But don’t worry this story has a happy ending - our favourite kind!

With the support of Australian aid Joseph was able to attend training school and is now a proud and talented tailor, even employing his own staff.

“But now my dreams are big and my life has changed. Now I think of my future.”

He not only has big dreams for himself but for others too. He plans to pay for his three siblings to go to school and start his own business centre.

Australian aid really does make dreams come true.

Polio may be  familiar to many global citizens because we have been passionately campaigning on this issue together for many years, along with our partners Rotary International, UNICEF, WHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

And we have come a long way. To refresh your memory; back in 1988, polio caused 1,000 children worldwide to be paralysed every single day. Now we are fighting the last 0.1% of this frightening disease.

We now stand on the precipice of an exciting new era where polio will be a thing of the past, much like smallpox. It excites us that we can help make polio the second ever human disease to be eradicated.

In the future children like Joseph will not have to worry about missing out on school because they can’t walk.

Joseph’s story is a fantastic example of how Australian aid has helped to transform the lives of some of the world’s poor, giving them the opportunity to lift themselves and others out of poverty and lead healthy and successful lives.

Because everyone should have the chance to dream.

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