A QUAKER and peace worker, Gerald Drewett, who celebrated his 90th birthday last month, has embarked on a ten-year “Nineties odyssey” to walk 4000 steps a day for the next 90 days — and to repeat the challenge every year until he is 100.
That would be three million steps. He hopes to raise £30,000 annually for the Give Peace a Chance Trust, and the Peace Museum in Bradford, which he founded in 1998. Based at the UNESCO World Heritage site at Salt’s Mill, it is dedicated to the history of non-violence and social harmony.
He has built into his projection a five-per-cent annual cumulative decrease in his present fitness. So, in 2027 (aged 91), he will do 3610 steps every day for 86 days; in 2030 (94), 3258 steps for 73 days; in 2034, 2654 for 60 days; and, in 2035, 2521 for 57 days.
“Don’t ask me what I’ll do on my 100th birthday, because I have no idea what it’s like to be 100,” he says.
Reflecting on the purpose of human lives, he says: “The bigger picture of why life exists is beyond our comprehension. But the question of human purpose is one I particularly asked myself as I approached my tenth decade, my nineties.
“Am I ever entitled to live my life purely for my benefit? to sit back and enjoy life while I wait for my end to come? I don’t think anybody ever has that entitlement. We are social animals: we live in community. Community gives to us, and we need to give back.”
He is no longer actively involved in the Peace Museum, which houses 16,000 objects, including banners, personal objects, campaign memorabilia, and artworks. These include The Conchie by Arthur Wilson Gay, depicting a man sitting in a train and reading his Bible, flanked by a military escort.
“Completing this ten-year mission, if God lets me, means I’m dedicating the rest of my life to bringing peace and social harmony to the forefront of the minds of people,” Gerald Drewett says.
“It truly feels like an odyssey, with the ultimate aim of bringing peace to the forefront of thinking in the 21st century, and tackling a lack of social compassion.”