MUBENDE: Our Lady of Fatima Mubende Catholic Parish has prioritised fighting drought & air pollution as per the Centenary celebration.
The Palish started with the planting of trees around the bounds of the parish as is one of the plans the monastery has while celebrating 100 years of service.
They have plans to fight the drought and air pollution caused by deforestation which has caused climate change and to some extent deaths due to air that is consumed by humans and end up causing dangers to their lives.
Climate change is increasing the occurrences of water-borne diseases such as dysentery, cholera, hepatitis E, vector-borne diseases, respiratory diseases, malnutrition-related illnesses, and especially malaria. Uganda’s fourth Health Sector Development Plan indicates the importance of developing “early warning systems and dissemination of weather forecasts to help health managers to improve preparedness and response”.
The trees will be planted in public places such as at churches, schools, hospitals, and others while the public is also encouraged to plant trees in their homes across the district
The target of Our Lady of Fatima Mubende Catholic Parish is planting more than 1500 fruit trees and local trees including Migavu, Misambya, and Mituba, among others.
According to the Reverend Father Emmanuel Mwerekande, many trees that were planted in the past have been cut down which has further disturbed the environment.
He told Mubende Post that they will be distributing trees to everyone and the program has already been started with an official launch happening soon so that all people can plant trees in their homes across the parish.
“Many fruit trees that were planted during the leadership of Zerinda Rwabushagala, have been cut down for purposes we don’t know but she planted them, the act he did is still being continued but who cut them down!!! no one wants to know them” Rev Emmanuel said.
He urged everyone who has what they can do to help the parish in ending the artificial drought, to step up, especially through donations.
“People have taken trees and planted them at home and schools. Now we want to start planting at hospitals. We asked parents to teach their children to water trees,” Mwerekande added.
In 2010, Uganda had 6.93 Mha of tree cover, extending over 29% of its land area. In 2020, it lost 73.6 kha of tree cover, equivalent to 36.0 Mt of CO₂ emissions.
From 2001 to 2020, 918 kha of tree cover was lost, equivalent to a 12% decrease in tree cover since 2000 and 413 Mt of CO₂ emissions.
From 2001 to 2019, 3.8% of tree cover loss occurred in areas where dominant drivers resulted in deforestation.
This has reduced both the ecosystem services the forests provide, including diminishing wood yield and quality, and the biodiversity they support. 1.4 Mha of land has been burned, as of 2021.
The parish will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a closing ceremony on September 20, 2025.
