Today in the Mission Yearbook - Climate change conference delegates help students at the Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda plant trees

A recent video shows how students are working to protect their surroundings with help from their visitors

February 11, 2023

Video URL: https://youtu.be/4AFp7QlFHy4

The visit by delegates representing the All Africa Council of Churches was memorable for students at the Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda. (Contributed photo)

In November, students attending the Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda were treated to a visit from delegates representing the All Africa Conference of Churches, who took time during a conference on climate change to meet with the students and plant trees with them.

In a recent video (click on the link above) featuring the Rev. Dr. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier, a lecturer on the faculty of theology and religious studies at the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences in Butare, Rwanda, students in Kabuga are depicted interacting with the visitors and planting trees with them.

“We need individual and global efforts to tackle this climate change crisis head-on,” Olivier says during the video, made following the Nov. 24 visit and posted on the Facebook page of Presbyterian World Mission. “One way is education, which may be one of our greatest weapons for fighting climate change.”

Olivier called the visit “a time for some church leaders to transmit their ethical values of fighting against climate change, taking care of nature and preserving long life to the coming generations.”

It was also “a way to raise awareness for limiting global warming as it was adopted in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The world continues to get warmer at an alarming rate,” Olivier says, “putting almost every child at risk of more frequent and destructive climate calamities.”

Planting trees at the Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda reminded students how much they can do to care for Creation. (Contributed photo)

“The action of planting trees is one of the smallest and most effective actions to maintain the ecosystem and tackle climate change,” Olivier says. “Trees can handle the weather, metabolize nutrition from the soil and air and cooperate with the surrounding environment.”

“A tree is not just a tree,” Olivier says. “It is alive precisely because it’s connected to the Earth, to life and to nature, which is the expression of universal love in this world.”

Even as humble saplings, trees play a key role in our well-being, according to Olivier.

“Trees have to restore the balance within our human society and the rest of the natural world for assuring that future generations will be safe,” Olivier says. “Restoring at least a small part of the lost vegetation … is an environmentally friendly way to combat dangerous climate change.”

According to Olivier, research shows that a 20-minute walk in the woods can reduce a person’s blood pressure and blood sugar levels without medication. “Children who like to play under the trees have highly developed mental capabilities,” Olivier says, “and they are transformed into experts of innovation.”

To learn more about the Presbyterian School of Kabuga (PSK) in Rwanda, email the Rev. Paula Cooper, Presbyterian World Mission’s regional liaison for East Central Africa. PIASS and PSK are ministries of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda (EPR), the PC(USA)’s global partner.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jashalund Royston, Research Analyst II, Research Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Cindy Rubin, Administrative Assistant, Ministry Engagement & Support, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Dear God, we praise you and give thanks for all that you have given us. May we share our abundance with others in your mission to this multicultural world. May we welcome and celebrate your rich diversity. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Training imaginative minds by planting seeds at the Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda

Teachers find honing students’ gardening skills can boost their creative spark

December 22, 2022

Teachers at the Presbyterian School of Kabunga in Rwanda are finding that working gardening into the curriculum helps make their primary students more responsible. (Photo courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier)

The Presbyterian School of Kabuga in Rwanda discovered that gardening helps primary school students to demonstrate greater responsibility at school and at home. It is a crucial part of teaching because it leads to creativity and innovation. It is a valuable life skill tool which can influence all aspects of life.

Inviting small children to plant seeds wakes up their spirit of innovation and inventiveness, leading to the improvement of their learning process and the development of their individual capabilities. The action of planting also makes a positive contribution to the society. It increases their confidence and their sense of nurturing and following up. Gardening is a perfect metaphor for innovation, development and cultivating new knowledge.

Before the harvest, students are involved in the systematic work of watering, weeding, and protecting the vulnerable plants against sun, heavy rains and harmful insects. This practice develops their creative and innovative capacities. In the Presbyterian School of Kabuga, planting seeds is included in the curriculum and became an integral lesson to help all students to succeed.

Teachers Rachel and Jeanette reported that parents were amazed to see how their kids had grown in helping them in the kitchen, especially in preparing and cooking vegetables. Some students planted seeds at home.

Teachers reported a boost in their students’ cognitive and practical capabilities. (Photo by the Rev. Dr. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier)

Teacher Emerance said that planting seeds did not help only students, but it also has an amazing effect on teachers as planting, watering, and harvesting stimulate teachers’ spirit of responsibility. For the students it is a very important way of boosting their cognitive and practical capacities. Some students were attracted by learning and are motivated to join class. Teachers were also excited to see that some students improved their language expression since the lesson of planting seeds started.

Gardening promotes good communication, timeliness, friendship and interest in connecting with nature. In addition, it provides vegetables and other nutritious foods that offer a variety of health benefits.

After harvesting their own crops, the students cook and share joyfully the meal as a result of their own handwork. The child’s most wondrous ability is the capacity to create. If you create something every single day, then your spirit of creativity grows. It influences one’s long-term success in a variety of areas.

The school trains students practically for using their hands. Innovation is putting the idea into practice. For Christianity, it is also where God intervenes to bless the human action. Success in development is the accumulation of small actions and knowledge. With the simple action of planting seeds, a student can change, can influence, and can create, and he or she will never be the same again.

 The Rev. Dr. Ndayizeye Munyansanga Olivier, lecturer in the faculty of theology and religious studies of the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS) in Butare, Rwanda. To learn more about the Presbyterian School of Kabuga (PSK) in Rwanda, email the Rev. Paula Cooper, Presbyterian World Mission’s regional liaison for East Central Africa. PIASS and PSK are ministries of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR), the PC(USA)’s global partner.

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Terri McCurdy, Operations Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation
William McElroy, Dishwasher, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Dear Jesus, as you ask us to follow you and to bring our brothers and sisters closer also, please help us see and use those opportunities to spur someone on to be closer to you, and to grow in your grace. Be with us and guide us in ways to share and show that grace to others. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.