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Support Green Clubs in Adigrat, Ethiopia

2017_09 Appeal (Small)

As our Provincial wrote these words in support of our project, the young men and women of Adigrat, Ethiopia were already being good citizens to combat global climate change.  Through Bruh Tesfa Green Clubs, their primary objective is to raise awareness of environmental issues among the youth in their town.

The destruction of the environment is extremely serious today. Every effort to protect and improve the environment and our common home – Mother Earth – is worthwhile.”

Fr. Bonaventure Bwanakweri, Provincial - Ethiopia

As our Provincial wrote these words in support of our project, the young men and women of Adigrat, Ethiopia were already being good citizens to combat global climate change.  Through Bruh Tesfa Green Clubs, their primary objective is to raise awareness of environmental issues among the youth in their town.

Pope Francis told us “Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.”  Reflecting this challenge, Green Clubs was established in 16 schools with 20 student members. These young men and women are actively working in their neighborhoods and surrounding fields to sensitize others to care for our common home.

These dedicated students continually raise awareness to keep the town’s public area clean, work toward sustainable energy and agricultural practices, and plant and maintain green areas throughout the neighborhood.  But they need – and want – to do much more.

Green Clubs is a highly successful program with many lasting impacts.  However, a few years ago activities were curtailed due to a lack of funding. To get the program moving again and reawaken the importance of environmental awareness within the Church and within the town Adigrat, we must raise $27,000.  Your gifts in the past have helped to empower young men and women around the globe.  And I know you have made difference in their lives.  I am hoping we can count on you to become a partner with us in this project.

Some activities we would like to reinstate for the Green Clubs members include:

  • Distributing gardening tools and planting trees, bushes and flowers in schools;
  • Installing trash cans and compost plots;
  • Organizing essay, poems, or quiz contests;
  • Preparing teachers to lead awareness programs;
  • Site visits to dams, wind farms, solar energy installations, and clean factories

Environmental issues are problems we all face.  But in places like Ethiopia there is even more of an urgency.  Installing trash cans and teaching children how to use them may sound like a simple activity.  For the town of Adigrat tucked in northern Ethiopia, it is a matter of keeping trash in one location and away from homes.  Developing gardens teaches children to have pride in what their schools look like.  Site visits to wind farms or clean factories help young people learn new models for old resources.

We must all change our day-to-day actions to live more sustainably, to be more responsible to care for our common home, and to take deliberate action to care for the gifts we have been given.  Maybe it is using one less plastic bag every week, using one less sheet of paper, turning off unnecessary lights, or not running the water while you are brushing your teeth.  Every step we take shows our respect for material gifts we have been given by God when the world was created.  What will you do?

Green Clubs is step one in making Adigrat a better place to live.  For the students, this project is a huge step in making lasting change in how things are done.  These young men and women are counting on all of us to keep Green Clubs as visible and active as possible.  I hope that we can count on you to be as generous as possible.

Thank you for your loyal support!

 

Your Missionary Friend,

Denis P. Pringle

Director of Development