BC/Yukon Delegate for AOA

Mike Rebstein:

Hello everyone, I'm the delagate for the BC/Yukon Region and look forward to the sharing of ideas and participating in the upcoming Orientation Assembly. I am a relative newcomer to D&P, having become involved only in the last five years.

I was born and lived in South Africa for half of my life before my wife and I, voted with our feet' and came to Canada during the apartheid era. At the time we did not see any hope of a change in government.

I was educated at a Jesuit school in South Africa and then at University in Capetown. I remember the police drawing a line across the road to prevent a student protest proceeding, and threatening to shoot anyone who crossed it. They would not have used rubber bullets so I 'get it' when D&P tries to address justice issues and not just charity. For example, we have some migrant labour problems in Canada while in Africa, mining is built on a system of migrant labour with the terrible AIDS problem partly caused by that.

In Canada I retired after spending most of my working life with a very large multinational (IBM - whose founder was a Quaker). This gave me a strong background in planning, which may be helpful to D&P.

I then made a life changing decision, and went to Regis College, the Jesuit-run college at U of Toronto, where I obtained a Diploma in Theological Studies. I just can't escape those Jesuits.
Through the influence of the Jesuits and my Parish Priest, I became very conscious of social justice issues in Canada and started a homeless shelter and a social justice group in my Parish in Markham. Regis College was across the street from the D&P office in Toronto, and that was my first contact with D&P.

When we moved to Vancouver, I became directly involved with D&P and have come to admire the work done throughout the Global South. I hope and pray that we can work together at the OA to set a path that will enable D&P to continue and to expand on that work.
God bless....
Mike Rebstein