Dedicated men and women in Ghana spend time on their many other activities and also helping the wider community recognize the need to protect creation, specifically focusing on plastic pollution, which is particularly prevalent in cities and has become a major problem in nearby suburban areas. .
Sister Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR
Ghana, Tuesday, November 12, 2024 (Vatican News): Pollution can be easily seen in Donkorkrom, in the eastern region of Ghana, West Africa. Taking a leisurely walk through Donkorkrom, you can see plastic bags lying on the ground, from doorways to streets and markets.
Donkorkrom residents often drink water in sachets, and often immediately after drinking the water, the plastic is thrown on the ground.
It is not uncommon to see plastic trash on school or church grounds, despite numerous calls from priests and religious to be more careful.
destruction caused by pollution
Throwing plastic indiscriminately on the ground has a serious impact on the environment. For example, rain picks up and dissolves plastic from the soil, which is often discovered when a person goes to plow the land to plant trees and discovers that the land is dry, in which nothing can grow due to plastic pollution. .
Another problem with plastic pollution is that when plastic gets stuck in drains and it rains, water cannot flow, causing leaks and flooding, causing further damage to the community.
Plastic pollution is harmful not only to the soil but also to animals, which are part of God’s creation. Some plastics that come with rain or floods remain hanging in the grass and if animals accidentally swallow them, they die.
solution seekers
Religious leaders have taken the initiative to raise awareness in the community about the need to protect the environment. They do this mainly by engaging the community in conversations and other activities on the topic through their own realities. They take the initiative to lead so that others will follow.
Their goal is to continue the practice of environmental care in their religious communities and parishes, so that when members of the local community visit their homes, they can see, be aware and follow.
Congregations also believe that for this fight to be successful there must be some type of replacement that takes care of plastic pollution. In this sense, they plan to make shopping bags with fibers or materials that they can consciously use for shopping, so as not to carry a lot of plastic from the store, which will only contribute to greater pollution.
They believe that if the local community sees them taking this step, it will definitely bring positive changes in them and they will become more conscious about land preservation.
candle procession
In June 2024, dedicated and religious people of Donkorkrom held a candlelight vigil in Donkorkrom city with signs and banners to protect the environment. The procession was led by Father Bernard Adjei Appiah, SVD, President of the Ghana African Religious Union and Administrator of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church of Donkorkrom.
The candlelight vigil was one of the activities organized by the Conference of Heads of Religious of Ghana to celebrate the Jubilee Year and Special Year of Religious, declared by Pope Francis on the theme “You breathe life into the world and renew the earth.” . Give.” (Psalm 104:30)
At the end of the procession, Father Bernard said: “As we all travel, God has given us something very beautiful, the Earth. We must take care of it and not destroy or spoil it.” He urged the students present to consider that it is their duty to remove any plastic scattered on the school facilities. He called a representative from each of the church groups and religious institutions present, each holding a sign, and asked them to commit to protecting the Earth.
continuous awareness process
Raising awareness about the problem of plastic pollution is an ongoing process and has yielded some results so far. One of them is the fact that one in two children in the kindergarten class is aware that they throw plastic crackers in the trash can and not on the floor. Even Sunday school children know to pick up plastic from the ground.
As a next step in awareness efforts, the religious community plans to take garbage bins to the streets to collect plastic instead of banners, so that the message can be easily conveyed to the community.
