Peter DORAN, anaesthetist, SA and New Zealand (posted February 2006)

Dorothy SCOTT OAM, South Australia (posted July 2005)

Getting around to writing this has been like pulling my own teeth. It really hurts! In addition to the Sermon on the Mount telling us not to proclaim our good works, the Australian egalitarian ethos is hostile to anything that is suggestive of philanthropy or “dogoodism”. Hence I, and other members of FairShare I suspect, wish to keep quiet about all of this sort of stuff. The problem is our individual and collective silence deprives us of a wonderful opportunity to share with one another those things which go to the core of our being.

For me, FairShare offers a non-authoritarian and very flexible structure for living in a western society in the early twenty first century. FairShare connects me with kindred spirits on a similar journey. Even though I have little contact with most FairShare members, I know they are out there, just as I may never visit some wilderness areas but the very knowledge that such places exist, is deeply nurturing.

Sometimes it is a struggle to live up to the 5.10.5.10 principles, and at other times I find it a joy and just so liberating to be released from the pervasive materialism of our times. I have also found FairShare intellectually stimulating and spiritually enriching. It has led me to reflect on myself, the nature of the human condition, wealth, nature, friendship and justice.

FairShare offers me a source of hope at a time when the spirit of the age is one of fear and despair. FairShare helps me put my life into perspective, reminding me that each of our lives is like a leaf on the tree of society, a precious moment in the history of our species. As a leaf transforms light into energy for the tree, so the roots of the tree nourish each leaf. When it is time for the leaf to fall, it gives itself back to the earth and sustains the tree. FairShare is about being an ethical link in an inter-generational chain.

Hayley STEVENSON, South Australia (posted May 2005)

I joined FairShare International in 2003, at the age of 21. By this time I had become acutely aware of just how fortunate I am as a young person growing up in Australia. I had become aware that by virtue of having access to clean running water, adequate health care, and sufficient money to pay for life’s essentials (let alone many non-essentials), that I was among a minority in the world. This awareness caused me some anguish as I recognised that through my relative silence and inaction I was actually perpetuating global inequality and injustice, and supporting our society’s greed – both material and ecological.

I believe that knowledge carries an important degree of responsibility; in this case I understood that knowledge of my status as a privileged individual in such an unequal and unjust world placed a responsibility on me to do something about it, but what? I found the 5.10.5.10 principles provided a really useful framework for beginning to fulfil such personal responsibility. Building up my FairShare Portfolio and sharing the FSI principles with people around me gives me personal satisfaction and determination – determination to lighten my ecological footprint, increase the volume of my democratic voice and to continue to redistribute my wealth and time. FairShare International offers a formula for creating an equitable lifestyle, it may not be the only formula, but it is certainly a very powerful one.

I hope that many more people will discover the 5.10.5.10 principles and join us in our endeavours to make the world a more just and equal place.

Heather McLAUGHLIN, Victoria (rewritten November 2006)

I am a music teacher (in primary schools and in the community) and recently lived in Japan for 5 years. All my working life I have been very aware of how fortunate we are to live in a time and place where we have enough to eat, health care, comfortable housing, and general physical safety. Many are not so lucky. For 30 years I have sponsored children in various parts of the world. Currently I help three families, through PLAN International and Save the Children, while being very grateful for my own two children.

My sense is that there are millions of us who long for more equality and justice in the world, who are aware of the 1 in 6 human beings who live in dire poverty, and who are all too aware of the environmental destruction humanity is wreaking on the earth. FairShare International is a tangible way to keep track of our personal actions to make a positive difference, in four major areas. The ‘Make Poverty History’ and Millenium Development Goals are campaigns I strongly support through micro-philanthropy and FairShare activism.

It does seem that we are at a pivotal point in history where we can still make positive change if enough of us make efforts.

For some years I have run activities under the idea ‘Music for a Better World’, fundraising for aid projects through busking with children and other activities. I am keen to meet, perhaps regularly, with others in Melbourne who are trying the FSI philosophy. (Please send an email to info@fairshareinternational.org with Heather in the subject line.)

Previous version: May 2005

Terry TEOH, South Australia (posted April 2005)

As individuals, I believe we possess essentially three choices: a political vote, a consumer vote and an investment vote. With these choices we have the capacity to shape the kind of society we live in. According to the UN Index of Human Development, Australia is in 2005 the third most advanced society in the world. Perhaps with that privilege comes a moral responsibility to exercise those precious choices consciously, because many people do not have these choices that we take for granted. Yet few of us realise the significance or how to put these choices into practice.

Through our political vote we can choose between maintaining the current paradigm of economic growth, unbridled resource consumption and foreign policies that aggressively protect Australia’s interests at the expense of developing countries, or we can choose leaders who will work within a framework of environmental sustainability and social justice. With our consumer vote, we affect both our quantity of consumption and the labour conditions under which our goods are produced. Our investment vote determines how we direct our financial resources, whether it be donating to charities or investing in the stock market. As shareholders and investors, ultimately we are responsible for how corporations create shareholder value. When we buy and sell shares in a corporation that has caused environmental harm in the process of generating our profits, in effect we engage in ‘hit and run’ environmental vandalism. To label corporations as ‘big and bad’ denies our complicity.

To me, the great thing about FairShare International is that it provides an elegant framework through which we can be individually empowered to work for a better world. It is not uncommon to feel a sense of futility because global problems appear too large to comprehend or address. Taking control of the issue through personal action is vital, and I think there is no better distillation for a personal plan of action than FairShare 5.10.5.10.

By targeting to spend 5% of my free time in civic participation and advocacy, as well as considering issues beyond self interest at the next Federal or State election, I am exercising my political vote. By reducing my consumption and biological resource footprint by 10% and considering the country of origin of the products that I buy, I am casting my consumer vote. Under 5.10.5.10, my investment vote is cast by endeavouring to donate 5% of my income to charities (currently 1% and rising) and weighing the ethical dimension of share purchases. FairShare is truly a breath of fresh air that gives each and every one of us the opportunity to walk the talk and work together for a socially and environmentally just world.

I am the Development Manager in South Australia for one of Australia’s leading renewable energy companies.

Postscript (added in October 2010)

I have been with FSI since 2004. FSI has been a wonderful guiding light for me and my partner April to live more ethically. We have committed to give away our wealth to good causes when we pass on. Taking this decision leads us to realise that we need to give it away as well while we still walk the planet. This has opened up new vistas of micro-philanthropy for us. Recently we also joined Flexicar, an easy to use car share scheme. We will shortly sell our car, meaning that we will still use a car from time to time, but we will no longer own one. FSI’s 5.10.5.10 creed is so simple and elegant. I will shortly become a Life Member. Giving never felt so good.

Pam SIMMONS, South Australia (posted April 2005)

Have you ever

• had to make a choice between the overseas holiday or the house renovations?
  
• spent more than twenty minutes talking with friends about investment options?
  
• spent more than $100 on impulse?
  
• worried more about a Reserve Bank decision on interest rates than a World Bank decision on big dams?

I can answer yes to all of these. That puts me in the top 10 per cent of the world's most privileged by wealth, with choices enough to be bothersome. FSI gives me more choices - but these are more rewarding.

I am the Guardian for Children and Young People in South Australia.

James ARVANITAKIS, New South Wales (posted January 2005)
I am a part-time academic at the University of Technology, Sydney, and a PhD candidate at the University of NSW. I am also a member of the AID/WATCH committee of management, an independent community based campaign organisation that monitors the development dollar, and a research adviser with Oxfam’s International Youth Parliament.

In September 2004, I launched The Commons Institute to promote the concept of ‘communal ownership’ amidst the onslaught of private property rights. I also convene ‘2024’, a group seeking to encourage compassionate and progressive change in Australia, and co-convene the Research Initiative on International Activism.

The 2024 project aims to envisage Australia in 20 years time – imagining a community that we are all proud of and which has overcome key social challenges including indigenous health; the illegal and immoral imprisonment of refugees (particularly children); and environmental sustainability.

My career began in the banking and finance industry. After graduating from university I worked forecasting the direction of interest rates and other key economic data and was also involved in contractual negotiations between key financial bodies.

While travelling in Bolivia, I had an epiphany, realising that many of the pro-neoliberal market mechanisms I believed in were the source of a great deal of poverty and social dislocation. Following my return to Australia, I became involved in the Australian indigenous reconciliation movement and environmental activism, and returned to post-graduate study. At the same time I worked as a project manager in the Solomon Islands, Bougainville and Tonga advising on micro-finance projects.

In 1999, I worked as a volunteer campaigner at AID/WATCH where I became interested in the international campaign to reform export credit agencies. From 2000 to 2002 I was the Campaign Director of AID/WATCH.

I have spoken at a number of national and international events including the People’s Conference at the University of Hawaii, which ran in parallel with the Asian Development Bank’s AGM in 2001, and the Italian Effect at the University of Sydney, September 2004. I have published a number of articles and recently edited the Oxfam International Youth Parliament report, Highly Affected, Rarely Considered: the impacts of globalisation on young people. I am also a media regular commentator on social justice issues and globalisation.

I became a member of FSI because it reflects the fact that all change must begin within - and at home. This does not mean that there are not systemic and institutional changes that are required, but there are just as important personal value changes required. I think FSI’s 5.10.5.10 is a great plan for achieving an ethical lifestyle that will help close the gap between rich and poor now, and will eventually affect the culture we live in for the better.

For information on The Commons Institute, 2024 or to contact James see http://www.mercury.org.au/tci%20home.htm or email tci@mercury.org.au or James.Arvanitakis@uts.edu.au

Jasmine PAYGET, New South Wales (posted February 2004)
'Reveal the concealed' is a little motto in my work this year; it could be dangerous in some workplaces but for me it is about revealing what work has been done in water catchment areas to help the creeks behave as naturally as possible. That is, to help creeks look as if they had not been touched. Revealing what has been done helps people to understand the values and work of conservationists in making the creeks healthy. Revealing the unspoken caring may inspire others to care more actively.

Why am I going on about this for FairShare? Revealing my values in a consumerist society opens me to the risk that I will be placed 'on the outer'. It becomes easier when I can talk about the 5.10.5.10 principles. I then have great conversations because it allows the other person to say what they think and what they do with respect to those principles. I get the sense that people are longing to share something more and do want to talk about it. Thanks for being here FairShare! It makes sense; it is practical wisdom.

Pete L. MALAVISI, Western Australia (posted February 2004)
I have been working as a midwife for over 13 years now. The word midwife means being with woman. I believe that the midwife is the best professional to care for women and their families across the continuum of pregnancy labour birth and postnatal periods. As a midwife I believe in woman’s ability to birth without intervention, I believe that all woman should have choice and that maternity services here in Australia require a major overhaul. I believe in evidence based practice and look to the current Lead Maternity Carer service currently available in New Zealand as the Gold Standard. I strongly support the National Maternity Action Plan here in Australia.

I have managed to attend over 500 births over the years, in various settings across Australia, metropolitan, rural and remote as well as having worked in the Marshall Islands a developing country. I believe that birth should be as positive an experience as possible for both the child as well as the family and that from this first step a positive start to life can be made. All women should have universal access to a midwife in the public health system. Midwives are the best option to improve both infant and maternal mortality rates in the developing world. When presentations are no longer normal then the system needs to accommodate a high level of referral and partnership between other health professionals as needed.

Midwives base their work on developing true partnerships not only with the woman but her family as well. Here in the South West of Western Australia, I work both in the community and at the local hospital. Because of professional indemnity no longer being available to midwives then many have discontinued their community work, dropping the homebirth rate to approximately 0.3 percent. Holland continues to have a homebirth rate of around 30 percent and New Zealand’s is fast approaching 20 percent and rising. I believe home births in this country will for various reasons be low but the most important point however is that all women should at least have the CHOICE!

Jan LARSSON, South Australia (posted November 2003)
I am in my 78th year on this earth and feel strongly committed to FairShare International because of the incentive it gives me to promote better living and better thoughts with value for ongoing generations.

Yes, I’ve joined the crowd
for better life and harmony.
So everyone call out loud
for 5.10.5.10 unity!

Stephanie LONG, Queensland (posted October 2003)
I have had the most delightful 15 minutes reading the bios of other FairSharers and want now to contribute my piece as a new FairShare person.

I am attracted to FairShare principles as it is a great framework for engaging in the personal and the political, the local and the global. I have been frustrated in the past about the separation of political and personal within activism and advocacy circles. We are responsible for ourselves as people and ourselves as citizens – most forms of activism focus on either the personal or the political or public. I really like the blending of both in FairShare’s 5.10.5.10.

I work for Friends of the Earth as a climate justice campaigner and FoE has provided for me a ‘house’, global insight and a activist network that has challenged me, inspired me, and made me deeply aware of the inequity of life in this world, where so many people live with less and a few of us live with so much we don’t even realise where the goods we consume come from.

I am looking forward to ‘trying on’ 5.10.5.10 as I think that really it will push me even further to contribute, walk a bit more lightly and, most importantly, to speak out. Especially to give away 5% of my income!

Nicole SCHILLING, Queensland (posted October 2003)
FSI ideals are admirable, and needed, if we’re going to have a better, fairer world – or even have a world at all.

Working at an individual level, we can know within ourselves that we are doing something to make a difference, however small, and that thereby we are becoming part of the solution instead of the problem. Eventually, I’m sure governments will take notice too.

FSI news items have an inspirational list of ideas, events, campaigns and organisations to get involved with.

Sonia RAUPACH, South Australia (posted September 2003)
I was born and brought up in South Africa and emigrated to Australia after the Sharpville massacre. In Australia I taught Speech and Drama at tertiary level for many years. Living with apartheid gave me a keen awareness of oppression and the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. The study of drama and poetry sharpened my ability to empathise with others. As a consequence, for most of my life, I have been obsessed with defending human rights. I have worked for Amnesty International for thirty years.

But now I am painfully aware that much more fundamental issues underlie the abuse of human rights. Our society is profligate with natural resources and in many ways is becoming much more uncaring and unjust.

But how do we bring about change? The small steps like not buying plastic bags, using less water and electricity, catching the bus rather than taking the car and walking across bridges to support reconciliation with Aboriginal people seem quite inadequate.

Supporting FairShare International seems to me the way to go. 5.10.5.10. gives us a formula that helps us focus our efforts to bring about change. It also gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are working with others who share our concerns.

I know I may not always achieve the 5.10.5.10 ideal, but at least I can try to change the way I live so that I can be a responsible citizen of the world.

Pat-ANN, South Australia (posted September 2003)
Yes, that really is my name, cool eh? I was born in London just after the war and brought up by Irish nuns who taught me what it was to be loved and loving. They breathed the gifts of love beauty and compassion into my soul. Somehow I didn’t ever get the bit about Jesus or the church but the most important knowing stayed with me. I have been involved with justice making issues most of my life, traveled through many ‘ism’s? and learned much on the journey.

I think we need to share and nourish ourselves with thoughts, actions and dreams of the possible future blessed with peace, beauty and justice. I believe if I start to act as if these times were already here to be lived, then I may in a small way add to the creation of that reality.

I was so delighted to find FairShare it seemed once again I was standing in the right place at the right time. I am committed to walking lightly on the planet, building community right where I live with my neighbours and sharing resources with others beyond my immediate family.

I live in an ex Housing Trust timber framed house, that I love and it has a huge garden that is always gloriously out of control. I have in my life 3 beautiful children who are grown, a granddaughter, and meaningful challenging work. That is more than enough and plenty to share with others.

I believe the opportunity to contribute and share has been removed forcibly from some and been tainted politically for others. However FairShare suggests a way back to contributing and sharing within our own lives and I am so glad to have found it. Consider for yourselves if this way could bring you back to a shared life?

Ann BRITTON, New South Wales (posted September 2003)
My life has been one of constant change and consequent exposure to different people and cultures, leading me to some interesting opinions about life and how we live it. I spent some of my childhood in Papua & New Guinea, before independence.

My spiritual interests developed from a Catholic upbringing and are currently nurtured within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). I work in a community service organisation, dealing with people suffering extreme financial circumstances and all their related stresses. When I finish my part-time studies toward a degree in science (geology and fluvial geomorphology), I hope to complete a diploma of education so I can volunteer as an overseas aid worker for a few years.

And I have a social conscience which I often (usually?) fail to act on...So all up FairShare International is a great way for me to meld all my interests and concerns (apart from the artistic ones - yet!), providing me with an opportunity and framework to follow through on more of my good intentions.

Fij MILLER, South Australia (posted August 2003)
Sometimes it’s easier just to be overwhelmed and feel that it’s just too hard to try and make a difference, or alternatively, to think that governments should be doing it all for us. When I first heard about FairShare International I couldn’t believe it was so simple. For a while I kept looking for the hidden tricks, and wondered what ‘they’ were not telling me.

The fabulous thing about FairShare International is just that – it’s simple and there are no tricks. FairShare International is a brilliant concept and a great lifestyle choice that has flow-on benefits for everyone on the planet. The most wonderful thing is that there is no external auditor to monitor your behaviour. It is solely a matter between you and your conscience.

I can choose how much or how little, as well as to whom and for how long. I’m not locked in to a tithe with any specific organisation – I just set my goals and work towards them. I meet people who have new and innovative ideas about personal wealth distribution and great practical ideas for reducing household energy consumption.

I respect the ideals of FairShare International. I try really hard to abide by my commitment to the principles and I gain enormous personal satisfaction from what I contribute to building a better place for us all to live. And each tiny contribution does help. Read more about us, and I encourage you to seriously consider joining us.

Anne HAMILTON, South Australia (posted August 2003)
I have had a passion for the environment and for social justice issues for a long time. As an English Second Language teacher, I had the opportunity to work in Cambodia for 18 months as well as in a refugee camp in Thailand. The people with whom I worked inspired me with their strength of spirit and sense of community.

Back in Adelaide, I have continued to work in various ways to support environmental and social issues and I believe that being involved in practical projects is much more satisfying than 'going shopping'. The concept of FSI and 5.10.5.10 appeals to me because it reminds me to keep a balance between the practical, the political and the connection with community. Hopefully, as the concept spreads, the rich world will gain more and more socially responsible citizens who choose to live in ways that can promote a sustainable and harmonious lifestyle for all of us on this planet.

Steven GATTI, South Australia (posted August 2003)
Sixteen years ago I entered the working world as a geologist, looking for gold where ever it occurred and digging it up, only to have it buried gain in vaults beneath cities. Sixteen years later, and having worked in the areas of engineering and hydrogeology, I now work in the business of water and catchment management. These days my work mostly involves repairing and protecting watercourses, clawing back water for environmental flows and promoting sustainable water use.

In spite of the apparent 180 degree career change I can still be as much connected to the activities of mining companies through resource consumption as if I still worked directly for one. To try and put real distance between myself and those activities I've tried to minimise energy and resource consumption where ever possible. I'm sure that I only make a very small difference, but I'm just as sure that this is a vital component of making a big difference.

In 1998 I purchased 25 acres of cleared land in Birdwood and began investing in biomass through revegetation of the land with indigenous native plants. The going is slow, often frustrating and demoralising, but in the end incredibly rewarding and likely to be the best investment I'll ever make.

I don't know if I've yet achieved the 5.10.5.10 benchmark, but I do know that it's a target worth striving for and one that can influence profound local and global change.

Sue STEVENS, South Australia
Building community - this is the aim that attracts and excites me. So much of what we do these days is directed at personal gain and satisfaction, but in a way that does not impinge on our precious "personal space". Even the very worthwhile actions of redistributing wealth, reducing use of water, energy and minerals, and writing letters etc to politicians or influential people, can be done at home or without coming face to face with those we are trying to assist. We still get the "warm and fuzzy" feeling from doing something for others, but I can assure you, it is nothing compared to having a person to person experience with those in our community who are in need - the aged, the disabled, the unemployed, the refugees......

So if only for selfish reasons, to increase your feeling of self-worth and to find the true meaning of life (in my opinion), break through that protective "personal space" and volunteer your whole self to someone, some family or some project in your community!

Vilia BONE, South Australia
Since discovering FairShare International, one of the most important things that I have done is that I have become far more conscious of what I am doing and how I do things. I have always sponsored a child via an overseas aid scheme, recycled, and given money to charities (albeit it spasmodically and often without much thought), but now I have done the following:
I have sent 3 ‘socially conscious’ letters where as before I would have ignored social consciousness issues that I believed in. Two letters that I sent were to thank a particular council for introducing a practice that I am enthusiastic about.

I have ‘adopted’ a charitable organisation that provides ‘life-skills’ programs for women, especially those that have experienced abuse or homelessness, as well as ‘emergency’ assistance to many. I donate a set amount of money to the organisation each fortnight. The organisation informed me that they need clothing for men, so I decided that every time I go shopping I would buy a piece of underwear at a cost of $5 to $10, which is a small percentage of my shopping bill. I do plan on donating my time there in the future..

As a member of ‘FlyBuys’ I have enough points to receive a $100 gift voucher. I will donate $40 to my favourite helping organisation and $60 to an individual I know.

I have introduced FairShare International to my workplace. Details of how this was done will be in the July 2002 e-Bulletin.

Christopher O'CONNOR, South Australia
I remember a moment in my life when it was all simple and perfect. It was 5:30 AM in the hot tropical Philippine climate. I was squatting over a hole in the ground, with a bucket of water that I had collected at the well - I was washing myself, my clothes and going to the toilet all at once. This was living, and I wanted for nothing more. Since then I have severely complicated my life with various bits and pieces.

FairShare is great for me because it is reasonable, achievable and still incredibly challenging. It gives me an opportunity to think back to that early morning revelation and also to work with my life as it is now.

I am also involved in a group of people that have purchased a block of degraded land in the Pyrennes (Western Victoria) with the aim of sharing it with the indigenous custodians and local community, revegetating it, and bringing it back to life.

Fiona CLYNE and Roger WOOCK, Victoria (December 2002)
We, Fiona and Roger, are two people who are trying to make changes in our day-to-day life which demonstrate our commitment to making the world a better place. We believe that redistribution of wealth and the health of the environment require agency and people working together. We saw the FairShare ad in the October 02 issue of the New Internationalist and after receiving further information decided to join. It seems to us that FairShare International offers grassroots direction and the 5.10.5.10 mantra is easy to understand, to work towards (and beyond) and to use to enthuse others to debate the issues and join the movement.

The hardest target for us is the 10 per cent reduction in energy use but we’re working on it. We’ve made a start in getting someone to come and give us an estimate for installing solar panels. We will still have the problem of two properties (beach and town). Peter Singer has influenced our thinking greatly. We are not young (Roger is nearly 70 and Fiona nearly 60) but we’re very determined.

Maree NUTT, New South Wales
I remember quite clearly, the night over ten years ago when I watched an educational video on the issue of hunger and poverty in the world. I was appalled by the horrific statistic that 40,000 children were dying each day around the world from hunger and hunger related diseases. This fact was illustrated with an image of 100 jumbo jets, each carrying 400 children, crashing to the ground each day, killing all 40,000. Would we tolerate such an event on a daily basis? Of course not! And yet we tolerate or accept the fact that each and every day 40,000 (thankfully it's a bit less than that now) children die from easily preventable causes like measles and diarrhoeal disease.

When I saw that video, I knew I had to do something. I had a responsibility to do something. I have chosen, mainly, to act through the 'democratic action' part of the fairshare principles, and write numerous letters to and meet with politicians on issues to do with poverty through volunteering in an organization called RESULTS. (Being a 'retired' physio and stay at home mother of 2 small boys allows me snatches of time throughout the day to do this).

What FSI has done is prompted me to not forget about the other areas of my 'responsibility'. Joining FSI has meant that our family's donations to charity have been planned much better and more appropriately this year (instead of the mad rush to get 'something' in before the end of the financial year to claim the tax deduction). Joining FSI has reminded me of the little things that can make a difference, like lights and computers off and of course the issue of toilet flushing. My next step is to finally do that composting course and get that much thought of worm farm going.

FSI improves on the motto 'think globally, act locally' with the principles of acting globally AND locally. I firmly believe that we can all make a difference in this world, if we choose to.

And a final word on responsibility: Apollo astronaut, Russell Schweiker once said: 'We're not passengers on Spaceship Earth, we're the crew. We're not just residents on this planet, we're its citizens. The difference in both cases is responsibility'.

Barbara TRUE, MD(USA), FRACP - South Australia
This is why I have joined Fair Share International.

After having spent most of two decades willingly consumed by professional training, I now find myself reading books like ‘Peaceful Parenting’. I recycle more all the time. I’ve tried to simplify my clothing to one load a week, although it’s usually two, one white, one dark. I am a Quaker, one of the peace churches.

Although I practice what is now called conventional medicine, I am privately concerned with the healing of body, mind, spirit and citizen - the whole person. I would do all of these things anyway, without joining an organization like Fair Share International. Indeed, I am loath to join anything at all – life is complicated enough!

But I have never written a political letter of protest, despite having the impulse countless times.
Although I act locally, by, for instance, walking a beach and picking up cigarette butts, I have never acted globally. I’ve attended one peace rally in my life, and it took the events of September 11th to do that. I have, in short, felt a sense of inadequacy about my efforts to do good. This is why I have joined FSI. Since doing so, I have finally thrown away my contact lenses and gone back to sensible glasses. I have reduced showering to every other day (don’t tell my mother). I have yet to write a political letter.

But I have joined FSI in the faith that I will, that I will be strengthened as a responsible world citizen.

Lyn LEANE, South Australia
I grew up in Victor Harbor, and moved to Adelaide to study at the University of Adelaide (Eng Lit) in 1974. After teaching English in state secondary schools, and then living for three years in the new town of Leigh Creek South, I spent nine years living in Nepal with my husband Mike, a mechanical engineer, and family, from 1988 - 1996. I mainly taught English and ESL in a variety of contexts, and went travelling with Mike into some of the more remote regions of Nepal as part of his work in hydro - electric power and sustainable energy. It was during this time that I became intensely aware of the demanding conditions under which most people in the Asian region live, and determined to build into my Australian lifestyle new choices that reflected this growing awareness. I chose to join FSI because it plays a part in enabling that.

Currently I work in the Uniting Church assisting in the development of good relationships between the Synod of South Australia and our "partner churches" in Thailand, the Philippines, Papua / Indonesia, and PNG. I also participate in the Blackwood Reconciliation Group, which operates from the former Colebrook site near our home, and in advocacy and practical support for asylum seekers and refugees.