{"id":5478,"date":"2019-12-03T15:31:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ofmjpic.org\/?p=5478"},"modified":"2019-12-03T15:31:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:31:26","slug":"eliminating-single-use-of-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/en\/eliminating-single-use-of-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Eliminating single-use of plastic.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OFM Myanmar Foundation has been actively participating in GCCM-Myanmar\u00a0(Global Catholic Climate Movement)\u00a0since 2017. We consider this as coordinated with\u00a0the\u00a0JPIC office that we serve for the common good, showing our Franciscan identity and promoting Franciscan spirituality among the people. Our main activities are organizing\u00a0an Earth\u00a0Hour celebration, symposium, training workshop on \u2018Deep\u00a0Journey into\u00a0Laudato\u00a0si\u2019<\/em>\u2019\u00a0and day\u00a0trip outreach program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is said that\u00a0the\u00a0theme of 2020 Earth Hour\u00a0will be on \u2018Eliminating single-use of plastic…<\/em><\/strong>\u2019\u00a0 and this is one of the main challenges in Myanmar\u00a0too. Due to\u00a0a\u00a0lack of basic knowledge and discipline,\u00a0plastics are scattered everywhere.\u00a0In our\u00a0outreach\u00a0program,\u00a0the participants\u00a0would\u00a0visit a social enterprise called\u00a0Chu\u00a0Chu<\/em>\u00a0(which means plastic in Burmese). The center and production facility\u00a0are\u00a0a house made of recycled bottles and tires.\u00a0Daw\u00a0Cecilia Wendy, a Catholic woman,\u00a0manages the center with\u00a0four\u00a0young creative workers. They produce a wide – variety of products made from recycled packaging materials and other waste materials. They buy these materials from waste pickers around the city of Yangon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our participants are very much interested in it,\u00a0and some items are also applicable\u00a0to\u00a0their families. For\u00a0a broader\u00a0sense, we need financial aids; to invite more\u00a0participants for\u00a0a\u00a0training workshop, to establish a similar social enterprise\u00a0for educating purposes, and to give awareness and\u00a0service to other cities and towns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastics concerned is one of many,\u00a0and\u00a0other topics are discussed in\u00a0the\u00a0training workshop on \u2018Deep\u00a0Journey into\u00a0Laudato\u00a0si\u2019<\/em>\u2019\u00a0and in meeting\u2019s sessions.\u00a0During the Earth Hour celebration, we invited parishioners\u00a0from different parishes to pray for our common\u00a0home and\u00a0to listen to the talk of\u00a0a\u00a0specialist on climate change\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0global\u00a0and local\u00a0levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, as we actively involve ourselves in the advocacy and awareness drives against the use of plastic through GCCM, it is much better if we live by it at home. We cannot give what we do not have, as the saying goes. In our formation house in Yangon, the brothers applied the \u201cRe-use and Re-purpose<\/em>\u201d by utilizing used plastic wares, bottles and packs in the garden instead of throwing them away.\u00a0In this simple way, we\u00a0can\u00a0walk the talk.\u00a0The photos itself convey the message.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myanmar is among the top ten countries vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Extractive industries like mining and logging destroyed most of the forest cover of Myanmar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n