Sensitization of the children of the groups Army of the Little Angels (APA) and Kizito - Annuarite (KA) of the Parish of Saint Jean Paul II on the protection of the environment and the safeguarding

Published on May 11, 2019

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On the occasion of the International Day of Threatened Species, celebrated on May 11th of each year, the Missionary Center LAUDATO Si organized on Sunday 12th May 2019 a day of formation and animation for the benefit of children of the APA and KA groups of the Parish of Saint John Paul II, of the Commune of Limete in Kinshasa, which is the pilot Parish in the execution of the Center's activities.
 
This activity was attended by about 100 children aged 6-17 years as well as the leaders of these groups. The LAUDATO SI Center was represented by the Deputy Director, Father GBAMA Boniface, the Treasurer, Brother MBALA André and the Thematic Assistant, Miss NKOY IHOMI Caroline.
The purpose of this activity was to provide quality information on the Encyclical of Pope Francis on "the safeguarding of the Common House", i.e. the protection of the environment and the safeguarding of creation and in particular on threatened species in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In her presentation, the Thematic Assistant highlighted in a few words the identity and mission of the Center. Then she proceeded to raise awareness on the themes developed by the LAUDATO SI Encyclical through a video entitled "LAUDATO SI, animated clip for children". This clip presents the Encyclical as a letter from Pope Francis to all the inhabitants of the planet asking us to protect our Common House, a gift of God filled with beauty and wonder, which is in peril due to the human actions that are at the root of all kinds of environmental and social degradation.

The Center's team also presented to the children, through images, the emblematic animals, threatened and protected species found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thanks to a memory game developed for this purpose, the Thematic Assistant accompanied the participants to visualize about twenty species of Congolese forests and parks listed for them.The awareness around the Encyclical LAUDATO SI of the Holy Father led the participating children to decide to become carriers of the Holy Father's message to their families and friends by carrying out small "green" actions on a daily basis (turning off lights that are not useful, avoiding wasting water, throwing garbage in the garbage, washing hands before eating, etc.) to avoid diseases and other harmful consequences such as pollution, global warming, etc.
 
Kinshasa, on 11th May 2019
Miss NKOY IHOMI Caroline
Thematic Assistant