Vietnam 30 March 2021 – Pope Francis in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ invites us to consider that “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents” (no. 14).

On Friday afternoon 26 March 2021, the Vietnam Don Bosco Green Alliance Group organised a seminar-workshop at the Don Rua Post-Novitiate in Dalat city, around 300 kms from Ho Chi Minh city. Present were some superiors, 47 brothers in philosophy and some religious from other congregations who are studying philosophy there.

This event was a part in the action plan of the first year of the group. The seminar-workshop included talks about the current environmental situations, Laudato Si’, Don Bosco Green Alliance, group sharing and activity. We wanted to provide the participants with certain knowledge, awareness and some skills for protecting the environment, so they might take some concrete actions to reduce pollution and protect our common home. In particular, we wanted to prepare the brothers in philosophy so they will continue to spread this to young people in their upcoming summer apostolates.

The following day the group went to Don Bosco Tan Tien Technical School, around 100 kms from the Post-Novitiate, and organised a seminar-workshop for 500 students, 20 teachers and some Salesians there.

With these activities the Vietnam Don Bosco Green Alliance Group has accomplished the main steps of the action plan for the first year with the seminar-workshops on protecting the environment organised in 3 technical schools and 3 formation houses (Pre-Novitiate, Post-Novitiate and Theologate) of the Vietnam province.

Mr. Kinh, the group’s leader, still keeps in touch with these Salesian settings to assure that they will continue take some concrete actions to make their compounds better. And surely the Salesians will continue spread what they have received to young people and others, and thus more people will cooperate together to protect and make our common home better.

Last year, Pope Francis invited us to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’ from May 24, 2020 to May 24, 2021. We are still in the Laudato Si’ Year and this makes our actions more meaningful. Everyone of us can be and must be an instrument of God for the care of our common home because “living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (Laudato Si’, no. 217).

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