God forgive us

God forgive us
Greedy we are
Clearing trees for charcoal
Hungry for money
For God and my stomach

God forgive us
We clear habitats of creatures
Monkeys, gorillas, baboons crying
The curses in abundance
From fellow creatures

God forgive us
The swamps are cleared
We want potatoes, maize, and yams
To satisfy our stomachs
And destroy habitats of aquatic creatures
The habitat of Uganda’s emblem destroyed

God forgive us
Happy we are today
But full of fears tomorrow
With one care but hungry for food

The above is a poem written by one of my english students in senior two, aged 15. The eloquence and honesty with which this poem is written has impressed me. I see the consequences of environmental degradation all around me. But I struggle knowing how to balance the environment and the people. I see friends starving, trying to build semi-permanent homes, and clothing themselves with rags. And I wonder. If they cut down that tree, I know they'll get firewood for warmth, for cooking, for life. But if they cut down that tree, they destroy something else. So, what's right? I don't know. But I know that we can do something about it. And so, I've decided that I will contribute to reducing this problem of deforestation by organizing my students to construct a fuel-efficient stove. With the expertise, guidance, and motivation of another teacher from a different school, together we're going to reduce on the amount of firewood consumed. In June, we'll build the foundation then later on in July we'll build the actual stove, using all local materials of course. This stove, I hope, will limit firewood, but also bring life to my dear friends.

I hope God will forgive us for abusing His creation; including His beloved children, animals, plants, water, air, and land.