Sr. Charity Bbalo, Religious Sister of the Holy Spirit, is a lecturer at a teachers’ college in Monze, Zambia. She earned the Certificate in Catholic Social Teaching through the project “Catholic Sisters in Partnership for Sustainability,” funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and is continuing her Loyola studies in our new project, “Living Charisms for Sustainable Human Development." In July, the Global Sisters Report published her article, "Preserving Trees by Making Charcoal from Paper Litter."

Sr. Charity's article describes her experience leading a workshop on Catholic Social Teaching and care for creation for a group of women who are widows or single mothers. During the workshop, the women have learned to reduce demand for tree cutting by using recycled paper as an energy source. Inspired by Sr. Charity’s leadership, each woman planted a tree.

Studying Catholic Social Teaching has inspired Sr. Charity to take creative and collaborative action for sustainability. She grounds her sustainability efforts in her faith and in Catholic Social Teaching, citing Pope Francis: “Our goal is... to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it” (Laudato si' #19).