The Teresian Sisters of the Child Jesus from Dedza Deanery of the Catholic Church have planted over 200 trees at Mlale, Traditional Authority Masula in Lilongwe.
Sister Tereza Mulenga, a Tutor at Bembeke; St Joseph’s Teachers Training College, said they thought of planting the trees as one way of responding to the Pope’s call to care and conserve the environment through his encyclical, Laudatory Si.
“Apart from doing what Pope Francis told us to do, we are also doing this in line with the United Nations Development goal which calls us to take care of the environment as well,” said Sister Mulenga.
She said apart from being Nuns whose most of their time is spent through prayers, they also thought of joining the rest of Malawians, especially during this tree planting season to contribute to the good course of the environment.
According to sister Mulenga, effects of Climate Change have not spared anyone including religious men and women hence the need to conserve and care for it.
“We are not exempted from effects of Climate Change. We leave in communities and interact with people. The problems are the same and this is the reason we thought of planting these trees,” she said.
In an interview later, Sister Felista Nale of Mlale Prepostulate commended the Sisters from Dedza Deanery for considering to plant trees at Mlale.
She said the area had a lot of trees but have all been depleted due to community encroachment and that they use trees for firewood during big functions that mostly take place at Mlale.
“Let me thank these sisters from Dedza for coming to Mlale to plant trees with us. We don’t take this for granted as it is important for us to care and conserve for the environment,” said Sister Nale.
She urged others especially the youth to emulate the gesture and do the same across the country.
Recently, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr Saulosi Chilima joined Catholic Children in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe in a tree planting exercise at St. Patrick’s Parish, Area 18.
Chilima said it was pleasing to note that Catholic church through various groupings have joined the rest of Malawians in restoring the lost environment by planting trees.
President Peter Mutharika launched the National Tree Planting Day on Tuesday this week.