Mark Anderson has long been curious about the calipers his father wore as a child. Looking at old photos, he recalls that many of his classmates in the 1960s also had similar devices. "My dad had polio as a child," Anderson said. "He didn't say anything about it. It was one of those things that we don't want to talk about. We just don't want to talk about it."

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is a highly contagious disease that primarily affects children under five. It can cause flu-like symptoms but may also invade the nervous system, leading to paralysis. In Australia, polio has been declared eradicated since 2000, with the last case of wild polio reported in 1972. However, the disease remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and recent outbreaks have been reported in Papua New Guinea this year.

To support the global effort to eradicate polio, Mark Anderson has been participating in a unique fundraising initiative for the past seven years on Sydney's train network. On World Polio Day, he and a dozen members from Rotary will ride to every metro and heavy rail station in Sydney.

The idea for this challenge originated from Anderson's son, David, a rail enthusiast who works with Sydney Trains. Eight years ago, David suggested bringing an All-Stations Challenge to Sydney, inspired by a similar event in London. "He said there's a bloke in England who's managed to get around all London Underground stations in one day and he said, 'I don't think anyone has done an all-stations challenge in Sydney,'" Mark Anderson recalled. "I went back and said, 'Okay, if we're going to do it, let's make a fundraiser out of it.'"

David Anderson has meticulously planned the 18-hour ride, which begins at 4:30 a.m. in Cronulla and concludes at the Tallawong metro terminus at 10:30 p.m. While delays are common in Sydney's train system, David often has backup plans to keep the challenge on track. "There might be a year or two where we miss Olympic Park, but we get there," Mark Anderson said. "We had one year where we got to Riverstone and there was a breakdown, and we just couldn't get to Richmond at the end of the line. So you have to run that off. Last year, you wouldn't believe it, but the trains ran perfectly on time all the way."

The fundraising effort has seen significant success, raising $170,000 in its first year and averaging $100,000 annually since then. Wearing bright red T-shirts that read "end polio now," Mark Anderson has noticed a generational divide in public reactions during the challenge. "The biggest reaction is, 'I didn't know polio still existed,'" he said.

While many older Australians who lived through the polio epidemic are supportive of the cause, younger generations often lack awareness. "Most young people today have no idea," he added. Although they do not actively approach the public during the ride, they are open to conversations if asked.

The funds raised during this challenge will be directed to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative through Rotary International, which is the largest non-government contributor to the initiative.