Focolare Movement

“Adopt a tree” project in Albania

Jan 17, 2013

As a follow-up to the Genfest 2012 in Budapest, the Youth for a United World in Albania launch the United World Project with a concrete proposal to revive their forests destroyed by fires.

Many hectares of forest were devoured by fires in different countries during the European summer last year as was the case in Albania. The Youth for a United World there thought of launching to many of their peers the idea to purchase trees that they would plant together in the burned areas. Hence the project name “Adopt a tree”.

They wrote from Albania saying that “Feverish preparations were being made for this meeting since many weeks with many unexpected occurrences, such as the concurrence with the national holiday of the 100th anniversary of the country’s Independence. Many universities would remain closed for a few days and therefore many young people would have returned to their home towns”.

Notwithstanding this and the hall with an 80 seats capacity, 140 young people arrived in Tirana on the 28th  and 29th November to spend two days as a follow-up to the experience lived at the Genfest in Budapest.

They narrate that “We lived the strongest and most beautiful experience during the preparation made together with a group of young people who had participated with us at the Genfest. They felt as protagonists in the first person. There were some who organized the meals, others the choreographies, singing, testimonies, translation and dubbing of videos, presentations…

“This helped make us a very united group. It gave us the strength to invite our friends by helping them find ways to remain in the city, even if some boarding schools were closed”.

The meeting was entitled “Do unto others as you want others to do unto you”, the noted golden rule present in almost all religions. During the  two-day program, besides listening to the main themes of the Genfest, the United World Project was explained. It is an initiative pursued by the Youth for a United World throughout the world.

They conclude saying that “The young people present were happy with this experience of unity and lived reciprocity. Many thanked us because they have seen that a more united world is feasible, that it is possible to change the reality around us by beginning with ourselves in the first place, and that we are not alone in doing so”.

The Youth for a United World in Albania

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