About Us - Fasters

Rita Bijons

Throughout the many years that I had the privilege, joy, and honour to teach young children, I always believed that they had a bright future ahead of them. Once I retired, I had the time to read, and to follow the science of climate change. Now that I know what has been unfolding, intensively, in the space of my lifetime, I am profoundly distressed by the perilous future before all children, and before our companion species.

It is on our watch, now, there remains this slim chance to make the profound change, needed as rapidly as possible, to assure the least perilous future for life. We have the solutions. We need the political will to safeguard our common future. We need climate leadership.

"Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act." Albert Einstein.

What did you do when you knew?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW63UUthwSg
Hieroglyphic Stairway  Matt Dellinger

Lyn Adamson

I am a lifelong activist and Quaker, for peace, social justice and the environment. 

As a mother of two and a concerned human being I really want to see our society respect and protect the earth so that future generations may enjoy their lives and experience the gifts of nature.

I fear that as a society we don’t understand our full reliance on the living systems of the planet. I’m not willing to stand by while we create conditions for mass genocide without making a public statement, and that’s why I’m involved with this fast.

My message is: we can make a difference. The future is calling us to speak up now, to stand up now, to call everyone we know to do the same – so we can change direction. I fully believe this is a life and death crisis and it is urgent that we act together.

I am a trainer in communication and conflict resolution and also involved as the Co-Chair of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, active in Citizens Climate Lobby, and in programs of education and outreach through PeaceWorks, an initiative of Toronto Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers). www.peaceworkstmm.org.

Ken Billings

My involvement with 'Hungry for Climate Leadership' serves as a release for my frustration for what our culture is doing on a grand scale, disrespecting nature and the environment. Instead of working with our ecology and emulating its cycles of renewal, we are trying to command and control our environment on an ad-hoc basis using economics and selective science as the sole arbitrator. Globalization and capitalism as we know it has no soul, treats people and species as collateral damage and is rapidly depleting our resources and trashing the planet. We are looking for an organic and collaborative means to work with nature whereby our footprint still benefits the cycle and well-being of all life.
I started ActCity Ottawa, a grass roots social justice and environmental issues group in 2007 with a focus to give the public more info and means to discuss these important issues that affect the well-being of all life on this little blue planet.

Dewan Afzal

I am 67 years old. I have been involved with the environmental movement since 2007. I am originally from Bangladesh and according to climate scientists, one third of Bangladesh will be going underwater by 2050 due to global warming.  This is only one of the many grave concerns of climate change that have been cited by prominent scientists numerous times.  Because of these reasons and more importantly the long term effects of these issues on our children and grandchildren I was compelled to act.

In October 2008, along with Rita Bijons and Adriana Mugnatto-Hammu, I walked from Toronto to Ottawa for an awareness raising campaign to collect and deliver climate change solutions to prime Minister Harper. In December 2008 I again walked from Copenhagen Airport to Bella Centre, the venue for the UN Climate Conference, along with two Danish Youth to raise awareness about the effects of climate change. Prior to these walks for the environment I was also involved in a one man march for peace and harmony from Toronto to Niagara Falls in October 2004 to speak out against racial profiling.

Much of my inspiration comes from the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore and I would like to end with his poem Walk Alone:

Walk Alone

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.