Francis Ssekalegga, the Coordinator of Agriculture Extension Services and Environmental Protection Campaign in MADDO, says that trees were planted in depleted patches of the different natural forests, along the roads and compounds of parishes, schools and other social institutions of the diocese.
Volunteers of the Biodiversity Conservation Foundation who delivered some indigenous tree seedlings. The Masaka Catholic Diocese is celebrating landmark achievement of growing 17,000 trees in one and half years
The Catholic Church in Masaka Diocese is celebrating
a landmark achievement of planting at least 17,000 indigenous tree species in a
strategic program to promote environmental conservation.
The trees have
been planted in one and a half years, in a campaign spearheaded by
CARITAS Masaka Diocesan Development Organization-MADDO, a social services and
development commission for the Catholic Church in the area.
Francis Ssekalegga,
the Coordinator of Agriculture Extension Services and Environmental Protection
Campaign in MADDO, says that trees were planted in depleted patches of the
different natural forests, along the roads and compounds of parishes, schools
and other social institutions of the diocese.
In his report
during the commemorations of World Forest Day, Ssekalegga indicated that the organization
has, since July 201,3, directly supervised the planting of 17,000 indigenous tree species
in the different parts of the diocese.
He says some of the planted indigenous tree species
include: Mahogany, Ficus tree locally known as Mutuba, Prunus Africana
(Enteseesa), Maesopsis Eminii (Msizi), Markhamia
lutea (Musambya,) among others that have both medicinal values and
complementation to nature.
According to him, besides
planting, the organization’s coordinators have been regularly monitoring the
trees to ensure that they are well looked after, to enable them to grow to serve
their purpose.
//Cue in: “nga bwetumanyi ebibira ……
Cue out; …..wooli girina okula.”//
He says the campaign is part of
the decree by the Masaka Diocesan Bishop, Serverus Jjumba, who initiated vigorous raising
of public consciousness and sensitiveness towards the environment.
Bishop Jjumba demanded
that, where necessary, the Church, through its structures, invoke ancient philosophies
that safeguarded nature, which is generally under threat of destruction by
human beings.
Tom Kyambadde, the Project Coordinator
in CARITAS MADDO, indicates that they set a target of planting at least 50,000 new
trees across the diocese in five years, since 2023.
He says that the organization undertook to carry out a demonstration campaign, which they now intend to roll out in schools, by
recruiting pupils who will act as environment ambassadors and change agents in their
respective communities.
Reverend Father Raphael Ssemmanda, the organisation’s Executive Director they have started identifying partners who
will support the broader campaign by providing the required tree seedlings that
will be distributed in communities.
He says that
because the communities have already suffered the grave effects of climate change, the tree planting campaign is being widely embraced by many people.
