In Sliema, the children and youths practice the teaching put forward by Pope Francis in the encyclical ‘Laudato Sì’. Fr. Loreto Zerafa OFM explained this initiative in a simple yet effective manner.
The Franciscan Parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart sanctuary in
Sliema, worked for this sustainable initiative in favor of nature by
collaborating with the group of altar boys and youths. During the activities organized within
the same organizations, the teaching was done both formally and informally.
With the initiative of Mr. Peter Gatt, a parent and one of the Preteens leaders,
whenever there is an outing or an activity, the plates, cups, and the other
things which are not disposable are to be brought along. In this way, we are
reducing waste, especially the so-called ‘single use plastic’.
Recently, a pasta night was organized with the purpose to collect funds
for the altar boys. A large number of parishioners attended this event and the
same principle was carried out, but this time the cups and the other things
were bought biodegradable (which are disposed of together with other organic
waste because the material they are made up of deteriorates in a short term and
is further used for compost). Since the price of this type of objects are still
quite expensive, there has been an investment which had to be reduced from the
profit which was acquired from this activity. Nonetheless, we noticed that
everyone appreciated this gesture because future generations are going to
benefit from.
