MALAWI: Catholic Women Join in the ‘Go Green Campaign’
The Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) in the Archdiocese of Blantyre have partnered with National Bank of Malawi in a tree planting project dubbed ‘Go Green campaign’.
According to this partnership the bank will support the women with 3.5 million Kwacha to plant trees in all the forty one Parishes of the Archdiocese. The project was launched on Saturday 18th February 2017 at Catholic Institute in Blantyre.
Speaking during the handover ceremony and launch of the project, Vicar General of Archdiocese of Blantyre, praised the National Bank of Malawi for partnering with CWO, one of the most organized groups in the Church. “On behalf of His Grace Archbishop Thomas Msusa we thank you for sustaining this ages long relationship with the Archdiocese of Blantyre. We are your reliable customers, so are most of these women.
This initiative will not only benefit the Church but the whole Malawi” said the Vicar General adding that we should not be selfish but patriotic Malawians by prioritizing the good of the nation. He further asked the Forestry Department and policy makers to put in place strict rules for the protection of the environment.
National Bank General Manager and Head of Operations, said that it was the Bank’s wish to restore Malawi’s lost beauty. “We are losing a lot through deforestation. We lose on tourism and also energy sources. It is now time to do something. National Bank of Malawi is proud to be part of such initiatives.”
Catholic women who sung songs throughout the planting exercise were happy to lead in implementing the call made by Pope Francis in his Encyclical on the Care for the Environment (Laudato Si). On behalf of the women, the Chairlady explained that the initiative follows what they learnt during their regional meeting last year. “We had a presentation based on the Pope’s message in ‘Laudato Si’ which called upon all people to be responsible stewards of creation. Further, we noticed that the effects of environmental degradation like deforestation hit hard on us women who take care of homes. It was this that made us to be proactive.” She was also very thankful to National Bank for accepting their proposal.
It is expected that at the end of this tree planting season the women will have planted to not less than 21,000 trees. Each of the forty one parishes will plant 500 trees. National Bank will pay for the purchase and transport of the seedlings to all the seven districts that make up Archdiocese of Blantyre.
Care for the environment is one of the 2017 Pastoral priorities for the Catholic Church in Malawi and AMECEA region. A number of initiatives on the same will be taken by various Church groups throughout the year.
