FCBCO Assembly delegates visit a river in the village of Mau heavily mined for its gravel (Photo grabbed from the FCBCO Assembly Day 2 wrap-up video.)
On 6 February, Day 2 of the FCBCO Suva Assembly 2023, the delegates split into two groups and visited two communities to listen to the ecological concerns of vulnerable communities and its impacts on people’s lives.
One group of Assembly delegates travelled to the village of Mau in the Namosi Province, around 31 kilometers from Suva, where they witnessed the ecological impacts of gravel mining. The mining activities polluted the river, detrimentally affecting the health of its ecosystem. Another group of delegates visited the settlement of Toguru, a coastal community around 40 kilometers from Suva experiencing sea level rise and coastal erosion.
The video below highlights the reflections of the delegates as they witnessed and listened to the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor, and discerned how the Church can best be the voice for these people.
