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Environment

E eventThursday, 28 March 2024

In East Africa we have the joy of sharing with you what we have achieved so far in relation to the care of ‘Our Common Home’. We are proud of our governments in Tanzania and Kenya because they are working hand in hand with the church to protect our environment. In some places the government provide seedlings at a cheap prize and at times they offer them free especially to schools and institutes or to persons who promise to take care for them. In some schools, care of the environment is part of the school curriculum. This year in Tanzania we had a workshop on Fratelli tutii which was organized by the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC). Singida, our Diocese was the host of 18 dioceses out of 31. Each diocese was represented by 5 people; one priest, one religious person, two lay persons and two members of Catholic Women Association (CWA) I represented the religious in our diocese and I thank God because I learned a lot and I felt empowered to keep the fire burning. As Pope Francis states “We need to develop the awareness that nowadays we are either all saved together or no one is saved” Fratelli Tutii no.137. The bishops would like to pass the message On Fraternity and Social Friendship to every person living in Tanzania and beyond before the end of the year, so the exercise is going on in the other dioceses.

We participated in Laudato Si week by planting trees in our schools. On 5th June we celebrated International Environmental Day by planting trees and demonstrating on how to reuse and recycle materials. Our governments in both countries say that we should plant more trees and no one can cut a tree without the permission of the local government. We are encouraged to use durable baskets and containers instead of plastics ones which are harmful to the environment including the animals

Reported by Sr. Cecilia Ngae r.a