Regina member Nathan Bauche descibes how he became involved in Amnesty International through letter-writing.
On June 24th, 2003 I sat down to write my first Amnesty International appeal letter. It was addressed to the Canadian government about the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. I received a reply to this letter from the Minister for International Cooperation at the time.
I had been acquainted with the movement earlier that spring in an education class. Our professor had invited the community AI group to speak to us. Through skits and discussion they explained Amnesty’s mission and role. During the presentation, I realized how easy it was to make a difference simply by writing a letter.
Afterwards I became heavy involved with AI. I joined the university’s Amnesty chapter, volunteered at many events, attended the Human Rights College in 2005, served on Amnesty Group 91’s board, and participated in twelve annual Write For Rights events.
Over the past fifteen years I have penned 621 letters in support of human rights. My yearly average is 41 letters. I have sent letters to 133 countries and received replies from Russia, the Philippines, England, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, and Romania.
Here is data on my letter distribution by continent:
