The 2025 Confirmation students of St. Anthony’s Church, Vakola, Mumbai, western India, launched a Care for Creation initiative, demonstrating how faith can inspire meaningful action for the environment.
Guided by their Confirmation animator, Candida Carvalho, the students distributed 1,000 saplings and 800 seed balls to parishioners and neighborhood residents, encouraging families to participate in long-term environmental care. In collaboration with Bisleri’s Bottles for Change program, they collected 202 kilograms of plastic, ensuring responsible recycling, and gathered 2,200 milk tetra paks, preventing them from entering landfills while raising awareness about effective waste management.
Ms. Carvalho expressed her admiration for the students’ dedication: “It’s a truly inspiring initiative. When our youth step forward, they put their heart and soul into every activity, ensuring they reach out with dedication and warmth to every parishioner in our community.”
The parish community, including Small Christian Communities (SCCs), actively supported these initiatives, and social media campaigns helped spread awareness further. Parish Priest Dr. Fr. Francis Carvalho highlighted the meticulous planning behind the drive, noting, “I am glad our Confirmands have stepped up their efforts and realised the need to go green with this drive. A lot of meticulous planning was done in their respective zones, which involved reaching out to everyone in Vakola.”
The initiative also drew heartfelt appreciation from parishioners. One community member said, “The initiative taken by the team for ‘The Care for Creation’ included a sapling drive, tetra-pack collection, and plastic-bottle collection. The entire parish community was involved, and everyone’s coordination was truly noteworthy. Through this, we could reconnect with nature and become partners in saving it. These efforts not only beautified our surroundings but also strengthened community bonds as we all worked together toward a greener future.”
Reflecting on the experience, one Confirmation student shared, “This experience helped us reconnect with nature and reminded us of our responsibility to care for God’s creation. Our plastic and sapling drive showed how small actions, collecting bottles and growing saplings, can make a real difference. This journey strengthened our unity and encouraged us to value creation and grow as responsible, faith-filled young people.”
As the Church marks the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Confirmation students of St. Anthony’s Parish have demonstrated how its message can be translated into concrete actions, proving that even small steps can make a lasting difference in caring for our common home.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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