Chapter 13 Small Things that We Do
Pelin and Ersan Akgun, Twickenham: 23 April 2012
Dear Toby,
We are friends of your mummy. Many years ago in a social gathering, we
met your lovely mother for the first time. It was just a couple of
months before our first and only son Kuzey’s arrival to this world.
Having our first baby was the most exciting and challenging
journey—many thanks to Bianca for making it easier with her gentle
support, love and care during this period. She was brilliant with Kuzey,
and her natural ability to sooth him, cheer him up and put him to sleep
(and believe me what a challenge that was) made us realize that she
would be an amazing mother!
We were so happy to hear about your birth and when we read the about the Letters to Toby project, about how we are contributing towards making the world better place, we had to write something. Even though we are not a very green family, there are still some small things that we do:
- We are living in a block of flats and there was no common recycling arrangement in place. Everything was going into rubbish bins. So Pelin called the council several times until she managed to get 4 giant boxes in the common area for recycling papers, glasses, plastics etc. which are in constant use by everybody nowadays.
- Regularly Kuzey chooses his used toys, clothes and books to be given away to charity shops, and we make this a special occasion for him to learn how to share, donate and recycle.
- We are walking and using public transport as much as possible to reduce our carbon footprint.
- The 30°C temperature program is always in use on the washing machine to reduce our energy consumption.
- From time to time we donate to Greenpeace, and contribute to the online actions of Avaaz.org.
- We are trying to teach Kuzey how to love, share, respect, communicate and to celebrate life as it is. We are hoping to raise him as a caring, gentle boy who can contribute towards making the world better place :)
Love,
Pelin, Ersan and Kuzey River Akgun