Environmental Protection Training at Village 2 Parish - Madagui Parish
On the morning of March 27, 2021, the Environmental Department of Caritas of Diocese of Dalat organized an environmental protection training program at Marco 2 chapel - Madagui parish, with the goal: people know the current state of the local environment and come up with solutions to protect the environment. The main participants are parishioners in the church, including children
The program took place on Saturday morning so there were more than 40 students of primary and secondary school age participating. While waiting for the elderly participants to arrive, the children watched a video about the gift of life that carries the message of environmental protection. After watching the movie, the children were asked some fun quizzes by Ms. Song Tu, a Caritas Dalat employee, "list three ways to protect the environment."
The program began with the warm-up dance "Laudato Sí", which is also the "trademark" dance of Caritas Dalat Environment Department. After the people and children settled down, Mr. Tou Prong Son, an employee of Caritas Dalat, led everyone into the program with the picture "The earth is about to sink in a sea of trash" and suggested that participants express their feelings after observing.Many opinions from the participants were raised enthusiastically: the earth stands on a sea of trash, a sea of trash and spheres, too much plastic, the earth is covered with trash... from there he said the reason why Caritas Dalat organized the training program at Marco 2 parish, then introduced the program and the participants (9 Caritas staff and people in the church). Next, Ms. Dinh Thi Hong Phuc, Deputy Director of Caritas of Diocese of Dalat, introduced Caritas and its activities. When asked, have you heard or known about Caritas? Most people here do not know what Caritas is.
During that time, the group of children was led outside the chapel by Caritas staff Ms. Song Tu and Ms. Ka Reap for activities and divided into 4 teams, each team had a unique name: Angel, Bong Hoa, Gypsy Mom and Puppy to play the game "who can quickly pick up more trash". Then the groups gathered their results in front of the chapel for the judges to score. Children's groups continued the "painting to protect the environment" contest with enthusiasm and excitement.
Then the participants were divided into 4 groups, including three groups of adults and one group of children. Three groups of adults discussed three topics about food, household items and garbage. Each group has 1 - 2 Caritas staff members to support and guide the use of two tools "Rich picture and timeline" to show the current status of waste in the village, items used in production and family as well as the history of local culinary culture.
After the groups presented the results, Ms. Hong Phuc concluded and summarized some of the problems the village is facing such as: damaged land, debt due to high spending, many diseases, increased life demands that are difficult to control, people are not aware of disposing of trash in the right place... From the above problems, solutions were raised: planting trees, saving water, picking up trash, riding a bicycle to reduce emissions, reducing spending, bringing baskets to the market...
Participants then watched the Pope's letter about Laudatosi through a short video.
Currently, it is cashew season so there are not enough people attending. However, the presence of children also creates a joyful atmosphere and encourages mothers to actively participate. The Marco Madaguoi parish is also invited to participate more deeply in the "Laudato Si" program in the next 2 years through the learning exchange forums of the Caritas parish network. The program ends when each person writes their name on the heart and sticks it on the activities they commit to doing to protect and care for our common home.
Son Charry
