My friend, Connie, also from First Universalist Church, sent me the following email, (edited).
Photo from US Department of State
Sarah
I belong to a group of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who, Pre-Covid-19, met regularly. Brady is one of our members. While he was a PC Volunteer in Kiribati, he fell in love with one of the inhabitants there. He, his wife and two kids now live in Rochester.
Kiribati is dramatically affected by Climate Change. Some families on the atoll where Brady served have been evacuated because the atoll is now increasingly under water, and other families, including his in-laws, are relying on rain water because their wells are now brackish.
Climate Change seems to be on the back burner here in that we don’t feel the pain of it in Rochester yet. Brady’s letter demonstrates the very real impact from someone in Rochester who has experienced it first hand.
Connie
Dear Rochester RPCVs,
Due in large part to my experience in the Peace Corps in the Republic of Kiribati, action on climate change and advocacy for climate change migrants is very important to me and my family. With some help from staff at NPCA, I set up this easy-to-use click-to-send software to write to Members of Congress in support of the Climate Displaced Persons Act (H.R.2826 and S.1335): https://www.congressweb.com/NPCA/71#/71/. If you feel so inclined, please take five minutes (or longer if you want to add a lot to the pre-written text) to send messages to your Representative and Senators.
The Climate Displaced Persons Act would establish a Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy and authorize the admission of climate-displaced persons. You can read more about it here.
Please contact me at bradyf585@gmail.com or 585-469-5480 if you have any questions or concerns about this. Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,
Brady Fergusson