The Our Lady of Hope Church, Candolim, under the aegis of the Diocesan Commission of Ecology (DCE), joined forces with the Candolim Panchayat on October 6 to host the 3rd edition of 'The Season of Creation', the event marking the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, revered as 'The Saint of Ecology'.
ACTIVITIES
As a part of this event, the preceding week was observed as 'The Week of Creation', featuring various eco-friendly activities for all ages. The Eco-Initiative started by Dr Roshan Nazareth “12 at 12 for 12,” a home management solution to combat the spread of dengue encouraged residents of Candolim to clean and decant containers outside their homes by spending 12 minutes at 12 o’clock for 12 weeks to clean their surroundings and dispose of stagnant water.
The venue was decorated with organic materials and traditional Goan motifs.
The event also featured several competitions, including a contest to decide the cleanest ward wherein community members came together to clean their respective wards, a poster-making competition for catechism children to create posters on ‘Creation, Destruction, and Protection of the Environment’ and a wealth out of waste contest for the youth, aimed to promote environmental awareness and encourage community involvement. Fruit baskets as an eco-prize were handed over to winners of different competitions.
Apart from this, 17 wards presented exhibits and prepared posters depicting medicinal plants and their traditional uses.
Throughout the event, parishes from Calangute Deanery performed skits, dances and songs on 'Creation and Destruction of Our Mother Earth' highlighting the importance of protecting Mother Earth and fostering a harmonious relationship with nature.
The performances were aimed at entertaining and inspiring the audience to take action for environmental conservation.
The traditional Goan Mando presented by parishioners of Candolim and a presentation ‘Candoiche Daiz’ highlighting the rich heritage of a village was a focal point of the event and was well appreciated by the audience. The presentation delved into the village's history, traditions, culture, and unique characteristics, evoking a sense of pride and connection to the village's unique identity.
The work done by the Candolim panchayat throughout the past year in reviving agriculture and cleaning village water bodies was highlighted in a video presentation.
DCE Convenor Fr Bolmax Pereira highlighted two models from Season of Creation 2024 to be presented to other parishes and regions, namely the collaborative work between the Catholic Church, Hindu Temple and the Village Panchayat. The other one being the '12 at 12 for 12' sanitation initiative.
FELICITATIONS
Trailblazers in art, culture, Literature, and other fields from Candolim were honoured for their pioneering contributions to the village's development and their dedication in preserving the rich heritage of the village.
The felicitation ceremony was a fitting gesture to the Season of Creation, which celebrated the interconnectedness of all life forms and the importance of environmental stewardship.
The DCE felicitated the Candolim Panchayat members for bringing under cultivation over 2 lakh square metres of agricultural land left fallow for around 40 years, thereby bringing 152 farmers back into agricultural activity.
The Candolim Panchayat was also lauded for de-silting of lakes and Nullahs, thereby preventing the flooding of low-lying areas during monsoon.
People of other religions were also felicitated on the occasion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Fr Bolmax Pereira expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the many participants and active parishioners and members of Candolim Panchayat.
“From the beginning, when we began to work with this Parish, it was in preparation for this day. I was extremely glad that we were able to collaborate not only with the Parish, but also with the Village Panchayat,” said Fr Pereira.
Deeply heartened by the support of the Hindu community of the village he added, “The first meeting with all the farmers and agriculture based officials actually took place in the temple.”
Added Candolim Sarpanch Blaise Fernandes, “We acknowledge the gesture of appreciation that the DCE extended, by felicitating the Candolim Panchayat for the work we have done. We have done it under the supervision of the DCE, who started such an initiative with us.”
Candolim Parish Priest Fr Ryan Estibeiro said activities to mark the Season of Creation would continue.
“The Season of Creation celebration cannot be contained within a single day’s event and we will continue to hope and act with creation through plantation drives and e-waste collection drives,” said Fr Estibeiro.
The event concluded with the vote of thanks, proposed by Yannah Marchon on behalf of the entire DCE team.
