MALAWI: Pontifical Missionary Societies Lilongwe Archdiocese Inculcating Tree Planting Culture in Children

Demetria Banda

Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe has engaged children in tree planting exercises in the fight against climate change, following the Pope’s call to care and conserve the environment.

According to the Archdiocese’s PMS Director Fr Francis Lekaleka, the Pope’s call in the encyclical, ‘Laudato Si, (Praised be to you)’ encourages everybody including children to be responsible for taking care of the environment, hence the reforestation program. He emphasized that there is need for proper care for the planted tree seedlings as this is usually overlooked.

“As PMS, we have engaged these young people to ensure that they start conserving the environment at a tender age and that they should appreciate the consequences that come when natural resources are destroyed. As such, every child has been asked to take the responsibility of caring for the tree they planted by watering them during the dry season to ensure survival of the trees,” explained Fr. Lekaleka.

Fr Lekaleka said through Holy Childhood, the Tilitonse Children group in the Archdiocese has managed to plant over 2,000 trees and other trees have been distributed to over 18 parishes in Lilongwe Archdiocese.

“We have already distributed fruit tree seedlings in our parishes this year so that children, together with local Church leaders and the faithful can participate in the reforestation program,” he said.

He further said the project is continuous and trees will be planted each and every rainy season but this year they had chosen fruit trees as they have nutritional value, beneficial to children in a low-income country like Malawi.

Fr Lekaleka continued to say Tilitonse children have learned that through God, they are being challenged to serve Him by replenishing nature and taking good care of it.

“We take the responsibility of replacing nature as we understand the future consequences of increased environmental degradation. It is written in the book of Genesis that human beings have a God-given responsibility of taking care of the environment, but over the past years the same man and woman has been the most destructive creature on earth, causing damage to all that God gave him to take care of. As PMS through these children, we would like to change the situation by first restoring the order of nature, at the same time shaping our children to make good leaders,” said Fr Lekaleka.

This project is being implemented with financial support from children in the whole world through the Vatican office of the Pontifical Mission Society of the Holy Childhood.

The money is part of the contributions by children on epiphany Sunday every year.