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We are an international collective of young people from Salesian Institutions & organizations who are passionate about the welfare of our only planet.
Member Activities
Don Bosco Green Alliance Project in Brazil collects more than 1 ton of recycled materials
The Dom Bosco Institute, São Paulo, Brazil,which joined the International Don Bosco Green Alliance project in 2019, carries out several campaigns through the Rede do Bem in favor of sustainability. In the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, it continued with the campaign to collect items such as: plastic bottle caps, aluminum seals, cooking oil and motor oil (used), receipts, and discarded batteries. To participate, the people served by all Services and Units (Bom Retiro, Vila Paulistana, and Castelinho Cidade Ademar) should bring these items to the sum of each class. The main objective of the campaign is to raise environmental awareness, correct disposal, in addition to raising funds that are invested in projects on the site.
“The campaign begins at the beginning of the semester, with the intention of motivating our students to participate and thus bring the items voluntarily, always showing them that by adopting conscious practices, we help to create a healthier and more balanced future for everyone. Environmental awareness not only educates, but also inspires others to adopt more responsible attitudes and to take care of the environment,” said Pâmela Fernanda , active in the Project.
Total collection:
Plastic bottle caps – 982 kg
Cooking oil – 705 liters
Motor oil – 100 liters
Batteries – 37 kg
Aluminum seals – 56 kg
Coupons – over 65,000
“Our deep gratitude to everyone who participated. The commitment of each of you makes a huge difference. We live in a world with limited resources and an environment that needs our protection. Every small action counts in preserving our planet for future generations. It is great to see our students and employees adopting sustainable practices,” concluded Pâmela and Priscila Watanabe , who works in the administration of Rede do Bem and contributes to the Alliance.
Concluding Season of Creation in Spain!
At Salesianos San Rafael de Elche in Spain they closed the Season of Creation by renewing their commitments to the DBGA in an act of prayer and meeting with the educational community and with the gesture of planting a tree in their school.
Here’s what their Instagram post says -
.The closing of "Creation Time" has reminded us of the importance of insisting and sticking to our commitments to continue to contribute to the care of the Common House. We planted a new pine tree as a reminder of this day and our YES to "hope and act with Creation".
Congratulations to our House Solidarity Network for promoting this beautiful gesture!
Closing Ceremony of 2024 Season of Creation in Myanmar
Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar, 5 October 2024 -- As we all know, “The Season of Creation of the Church” is always celebrated between 1 September and 4 October. The Myanmar Salesian Family also finds possible ways to mark it as a meaningful event every year. This year also, with the theme: “To Hope and Act with Creation”, some SDB and FMA schools in cooperation with Don Bosco Green Alliance-Myanmar organized some awareness programs for the students under their care in their respective settings. The most remarkable one is the online Zoom talk on ecological preservation by Fr. Saw John Shine Win, SDB to Myanmar Catholic youth around the globe.
Yesterday, 4 October, at 02:30 P.M., a simple closing ceremony of the “2024 Season of Creation” led by SDBs and FMAs together with some boys and girls, happened in Don Bosco Nazareth. The program included praising God for the wonders of beautiful nature, offerings of created things to God as a sign of gratitude, and special prayers for the ecology. At the end, the vicar Fr. Leo Mang, SDB delivered his short message on ecology, stressing the three important words, i.e., “to love, to value, and to preserve Nature!”
It is expected that today's event will bring about an awareness among the young to be agents to love, to value, and to preserve nature in their respective environments.
Source: Bosco Link Australasia
Season of Creation in Brazil
The Centro Juvenil São João Batista, Poxoréu, Brazil encouraged by this year's Season of Creation theme: “The first fruits of hope” inspired by Romans 8:19-25, carried out educational activities during the month of September aimed at promoting reflection on the environment and caring for our Common Home.
The One Dream, One Life project in the Irantinópolis neighborhood held a family festival, where the central theme of the children's and teenagers' presentations was the environment. They made crafts from recyclable materials and performed puppet shows reflecting on the importance of caring for the earth and the space in which we live.
In the Torcida pela vida project, pastoral assistant Keila Coutinho reflected on the importance of caring for the environment by showing a video and then performing a dynamic on the impact of fires in our region. On the day of the tree, everyone was invited to make a canvas representing a healthy environmental landscape.
PROJECT “LAYERS OF RAIN”
On the day of St. Francis of Assisi, and as a closing of the “Time of Creation” we want to share with you a great news. As students of the Salesian School Ceferino Namuncura, Salta, Argentina members of Don Bosco Green Alliance, we believe that small actions can help to care for and protect the environment.
In our school, we receive breakfast and snack. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have chocolate milk, and for that we use numerous sachets of milk. With the 4th grade boys and girls, we decided that these sachets should not become garbage but should be recycled, reused and transformed into rain capes.
Common Union Garden at Colegio Don Bosco!
As part of the training activities of School Religious Education (ERE) for the primary level, third grade students from Colegio Don Bosco and Centro Escolar San Juan Bosco in El Salvador developed the “Common Union Garden” project.
The final proposal of the year consisted of decorating Don Bosco Avenue, which is located inside the institution, with positive messages and recycling actions, seeking to promote working together for the common good.
Each grade was assigned a specific element, and the students, organized in groups, contributed their time, creativity and teamwork to create a garden that benefits the entire educational community, promoting a pleasant and respectful environment with the nature that surrounds them.
This activity is part of the institutional commitment to caring for our common home, to fulfilling the Organic Inspectorial Project and to working with the Don Bosco Green Alliance.
Blog Articles
As we conclude this year’s Season of Creation, we reflect on the vibrant and meaningful activities that brought our community together in celebration, reflection, and action. From September 1st to October 4th, we embraced the theme “To Hope and Act with Creation" Take a glimpse at the activities from the Salesian Family.
Changing a few habits when it comes to food consumption to avoid wastage can make a big difference:
● Schedule a weekly ‘Use It Up’ Day or ‘Use It Up’ Meal to make the most of leftover ingredients.
The world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food in 2022, about 1/5 of all the food that was available to consumers.
● Most food wastage, 60%, occurs in the home.
United Religions Initiative (URI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. URI, the world's largest grassroots interfaith network, cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world.
Infinite Dignity: A Privilege To Care For Creation
The impact of the present imbalances in the environment affects the most vulnerable people on the planet. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.
Bonding with the Feathered Brother
Bird watching is fascinating. It’s been happening in my sister’s house in Chennai. Every day a crow visits her kitchen window. Not for his day’s share of cooked food or bird's feed, but for his delicacy mixture (a common spicy snack). When others try to offer the best bird’s feed, it doesn’t interest him. He demands only mixture.
Heatwaves: Testing our human endurance
India was sweating through heatwaves in the past few months. Temperatures in 37 cities crossed 45ºC and night-time temperatures remained as high as 36 degrees in many locations.
My missionary experience took me to Banswara, Rajasthan. Along with my friend, Dr. Gloria, I went for 10 days. Our visit was during peak summer, and the scorching 48-degree heat was harrowing, but it was also an opportunity to see a new place, culture, and way of life. Salesian Missionary Volunteering is invaluable for youth seeking exposure and a chance to make an impact. It allows young people a chance to explore another side of life.
The United Nations Environment Program’s Faith for Earth coalition approached the Don Bosco Green Alliance to nominate a member for the Faith for Earth Youth council. I, Leann D’souza, was nominated by the DBGA and subsequently selected as a member for the council.
The Faith for Earth Coalition is a global platform to facilitate partnerships with faith leaders, faith-based organizations and people of faith at global, regional and local levels in order to inspire, empower and strengthen action and behavioral changes towards achieving the SGDs.
During the month of May, I attend the community rosary in my Church and in my local small Christian community, and a rosary which is conducted for all the residents in my building. Our services begin with adorning the grotto with candles, incense and flowers, singing hymns to Our Lady, praying the rosary followed by savoring some delicious snacks, playing games and enjoying a time of togetherness. One of my benevolent neighbors often takes the responsibility of sponsoring snacks and also cleaning and lighting up the Cross where we gather to say the rosary.
Don Bosco Green Alliance was privileged to be part of the faculty that provided resources for the ongoing course - Joint Diploma on Integral Ecology - which is being held by the Pontifical University in Rome.
The DBGA selected Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB, President of the Don Bosco School of Theology (DBST), Philippines, a very active member of the DBGA. Fr. Francis gave the participants of the course an inside view of how the DBST has implemented Pope Francis' Laudato Si' in their curriculum and a gist of the institute's vision for the next 10 years.
Today the term “development” is widely used, but often from a philanthropic or ideological perspective. That is why it is important to talk about integral sustainable development from a Catholic perspective. Doing so, on the monthly anniversary of the Salesian Missionary Expedition, is General Councillor for Missions Fr Alfred Maravilla.