Ramesh contracted polio at just six months old in India. Adopted by a Canadian family and raised in the Yukon, he underwent multiple surgeries and years of rehabilitation, eventually learning to walk with crutches and leg braces.

A return visit to India as a young adult changed the course of his life. Seeing other polio survivors living without the opportunities and medical care he had received inspired him to dedicate himself to ensuring that future generations would be spared the disease.

Today, Ramesh is one of the most passionate voices in the global effort to eradicate polio. A longtime Rotary member and advocate, he has travelled thousands of kilometres, raised awareness and mobilized support for a polio-free world.

In a moving new video featured by Bill Gates on Gates Notes, Ramesh explains why he sometimes chooses to crawl onto a stage rather than walk. By showing audiences the physical consequences of polio, he makes the case for eradication in a way that statistics alone never could.

The world has reduced polio cases by more than 99% since 1988. But for Ramesh, and for millions of people who have lived with the consequences of the disease, the reason to finish the job is deeply personal.