News Release

Church, Rotary, CFC Plant 7K Mangroves Seedlings

One of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that God created the earth to provide a place for His children to grow, progress and improve. With that knowledge comes the responsibility to take care of the environment. 

 

In a desire to protect the underwater flora and fauna thriving along the shores of San Rafael Bay in Noveleta, the Cavite Philippines Stake (Diocese) of the Church of Jesus Christ together with Rotary International District 3810 and Couples for Christ (CFC) Cavite Chapter planted 7,000 mangrove seedlings during the National Day of Service.

It was a half-day event attended by a total of 150 Helping Hand volunteers and friends of other faiths. Despite the difficulty of planting seeds on muddy shorelines, many expressed happiness and satisfaction for being able to help.

Mel Quinto, Chapter Head of CFC Cavite, came with over 20 participants from their organization and was grateful for the chance to be part of the event.

“This is one of the missions of Couple for Christ,” he said in Tagalog. “It’s our mission to save the earth because it’s the only home we have. So we really need to help save our world by planting.”

Although participating in community service projects is not new to CFC, Quinto expressed gratitude that members of the Youth for Christ were able to join in the planting along with other young people of the Church.

Alpiyo Bacayo, a member of the Couples for Christ Noveleta Chapter, also shared how he felt about being part of the activity. “It’s wonderful to not only help the environment but to also protect the town,” he said in Tagalog.

When asked why they joined the activity, Michelle Khadir, Champion President of the Rotary International Club Pasay Maharlika said, “It’s always been my dream to experience to plant mangroves. We are so happy to have this chance. We want to encourage the youth also to join in this project, to save our environment and our sea.”

Although mangrove tree planting is not a new concept, several young Latter-day Saints shared their reasons for getting their hands and feet muddy on a Saturday morning instead of staying at home or going out with friends.

Jill, a young woman from General Trias Ward, shared that her being in the event is to gain new experience. For Eunice, it’s to save the earth.

Jody, also a Latter-day Saint youth, shared that her reason for joining the project was to help build character. Janine, who is currently working on her Personal Progress which is a goal-setting and achievement program for young women ages 12-18 of the Church, shared the same thought.

The young men of the Church also didn’t lag behind in terms of doing service. For Jonathan, he believes that planting mangroves is one way of saving Mother Earth.

This is the third time that the Cavite Philippines Stake organized a mangrove-planting activity. The first one was in 2013. Today, the trees they planted are now 5-feet high. The second activity was in 2015 and four years later, the trees are now more than 3-feet high.

The Mangrove tree-planting was a joint effort to not only protect the environment but to show that people with different beliefs can come together for a common good.

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