Collected plastic donated to orphanage that will sell it for profit to recycling company

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Youth Association, part of Don Bosco Dungalpitiya in Sri Lanka, organized a beach clean-up day. Youth had not been able to gather at the youth center during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first time they were able to come together, they wanted to do something for the environment.

While cleaning a stretch of beach 1.5 km (approximately 1 mile) long, they picked up 100 plastic bags and 125 bags of miscellaneous waste. Local police supported the initiative and they provided instructions to the youth volunteers. The plastic collected was donated to an orphanage that will sell it to a recycling company, earning a profit for its livelihood.

“In Sri Lanka and in Salesian programs around the globe, environmental clean-up initiatives are taking a priority,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This has been driven by the Pope Francis’ 2020 Laudato Si’, which underlined the importance of education and training that will help youth foster environmental responsibility. As a result, youth have launched important projects to help their communities and beyond.”

Salesian missionaries have been operating in Sri Lanka since 1956. In 1963, missionaries set up their first technical institute. Since then, they have established 17 more in locations across the country, as well as youth centers and other programs to help youth in need.

Sri Lanka suffered a long civil war that ended in 2009, two tsunamis in the past 13 years and a deadly dengue crisis. Nine out of 10 poor people in Sri Lanka live in rural areas, according to the World Bank. More than 40 percent of the country’s rural poor are small-scale farmers with farm production often hampered by neglect and low investment levels resulting from poor financial services and limited technology.

Sri Lankans are affected by a significant lack of infrastructure including roads, electricity, irrigation systems and communication channels. In several areas of the country, seven out of 10 people have no access to electricity and almost half of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Malnutrition among children is also common.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Sri Lanka – Activities in favor of environment by “Don Bosco Youth Association

Don Bosco Sri Lanka

Salesian Missions – Sri Lanka

World Bank – Sri Lanka