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.