The Church
by David Snydacker
July 10, 2005

This morning, a few of us went to the local Catholic Church to attend the Sunday Mass. Of the four volunteers present, we had a Catholic, a Protestant, a Muslim, and a Jew. It was clearly not a normal day at Church, but an opportunity for us to form bonds of understanding with the locals. As the church bell clanged, we filed into the small room and took a seat in the narrow pews. First the congregation sang, filling the room with beautiful hymns. After the singing, the priest gave a long sermon. I didn’t understand one word. I noticed a young boy sitting in the front row repeatedly looking back at me curiously. He looked as bored as I did. I let out an enormous yawn, but quickly caught myself, not wanting to seem disrespectful to the locals. I looked around to see if anyone had seen the yawn. The boy had. He stretched his arms up behind his head and yawned as powerfully as I had. Oh no, I thought, I’m corrupting him. It was cute though and I couldn’t help but smile back.

At the end of the ceremony, half the money collected amongst the congregation was given to the boy’s mother – a woman with three young children. With the help of a Malagasy to French translator, we talked in a few words to the president of the church. He mentioned a need of funds to expand the church and build schools for the children. The people here struggle to get by – a struggle which takes a direct toll on the environment as people clear the remaining forest for agriculture.

The conservation effort requires that the locals understand and care about the loss of biodiversity taking place in their own backyards. This mission involves not only science, but also cooperation. Tremendous progress is being made in both.