Children of the École Verte in the Diocese of Mananjary, Madagascar (Credit: Father Laraison)
By Marine Henriot
Apr 17 2024
The island country of Madagascar, off the southeastern coast of Africa, is deeply affected by the consequences of climate change. That’s why, the Diocese of Mananjary in the southeast, has decided to create “green schools” with courses on education for the protection of our Common Home, placing a bet on the future of young Malagasies.
Father Laraison Ramosandrianarivo and three other members of the diocese do not count the kilometers they travel on dirt tracks to reach even the most remote places. It is thanks to their tireless perseverance that the 15,000 children of the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Mananjary, aged between five and 14, can benefit from the “Green School” project. The idea, explains an enthusiastic Father Laraison, with a helmet strapped to his head, is to educate the youngest to love and protect nature.
While the concept is simple, for young Malagasies it is a question of survival. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Madagascar is in fact the third most exposed country in the world to climate change, the consequences of which are even more dramatic since more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Breaking a vicious circle
Back in 2021, UNICEF had already sounded the alarm warning that: “half a million children under the age of five are at serious risk of malnutrition”. Indeed, the current drought, the worst in the last 40 years according to the United Nations, caused a crisis that affected approximately 60 percent of the local production of rice and corn, which represent the basis of the country’s diet. The only way out of the huge economic disaster that ensued has been the production of charcoal. Charcoal burners burn forests in exchange for meager earnings, but this activity is also their ruin. Forest fires cause deforestation, and with less and less protection against torrential rains provided by forests and forest areas, more and more flooding and overflowing rivers are occurring. Moreover, over 90 percent of the country’s energy comes from national timber and therefore from fossil combustion.
To break out of this vicious circle, Father Laraison focuses on education. “It is really about putting the encyclical Laudato sì into practice” he explains, “and creating a better scholastic and ecological environment.” The young Malagasy priest is firmly convinced: more educated and prepared children on environmental issues will be better adults.
Teaching discipline and respect
In green schools, training is essentially done through theoretical and practical courses. First of all, it is important to make children understand how nature works: the crops, the causes and consequences of climate disruptions. “We want children to be passionate about the environment, about protecting and respecting nature created by God,” says Father Laraison.
Then it’s time to get one’s hands dirty. Students learn to plant and cultivate flowers, to build latrines, rubbish dumps, but also organic composting sites and gain experience in reforestation. Vegetable gardens and orchards are also sown and cultivated, so as to have locally sourced fruits and vegetables in the school canteen and even for sale outside.
The pilot project was initially carried out in a school in at the center of the diocese, where very poor children learn. With the passing of time, neglect and lack of attention on the part of the students for the sowed plants and seeds, have given way to respect and self-discipline: “They water the flowers and plants even when I’m not there with them,” says Father Laraison happily, pleased to see a tangible change in the children that also affects adults, parents, and teachers.
The unique biodiversity of Madagascar
The Great African Island hosts a unique biodiversity, and it is to save this gift of Creation that Father Laraison tirelessly pursues his battle, with great determination: “We live in a Common Home, there are those who destroy and those who suffer. Yes, I and my people, who remain the first victims of this systematic destruction of nature, are angry, but we must adapt and we must also fight to leverage decision-makers to implement a new type of economy.”
Madagascar is in fact a frightening exemplification, the emblem of climate injustice: its inhabitants directly suffer the consequences of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, even though they have contributed to these only minimally. In 2020, the G20 countries produced 75 percent of global emissions; in short, it is certainly not Madagascar’s “fault” if the world is going to ruin, and yet this wonderful land is on the list of the world’s most polluted countries.
Numerous endemic plant and animal species, including lemurs, frogs, birds and chameleons inhabit Madagascar, which also has the third largest coral reef in the world, as well as mangroves that are so precious for the ecosystem. It is to save this endangered Creation that Father Laraison holds on to his deep optimism and transmits this fighting spirit to the children. – Vatican News
