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children's day

Children walk along an eroded path in Kunderpara, a village on an island in the Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh. Severe flooding in August 2017 eroded village farms and damaged houses. ICCO Cooperation, a member of the ACT Alliance, provided emergency food and seeds so that islanders could replant their food crops and restart their lives.

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Sauca answers during a conversation taped online in honor of the World Children’s Day.

“The future is yours,” said Sauca. “Be bold, be strong. Take into the account the experience of the present church leaders and of the past. Keep what is good but please don’t repeat our mistakes and what has been wrong.”

Sauca continued: “You are the ones who are shaping the society. This pandemic has just shown us that humanity is one humanity. So, as you imagine the future, don’t let religion, or color, or gender or anything else divide your thinking and divide humanity. Because at the end of the day, the purpose of God in Christ was to save, to unite, to reconcile all of humanity, the whole of creation, into unity.”

Wathuti, in turn, answered a question from Sauca: “What do you mean by responsible stewardship and how do you see the role of youth and young children?”

Wathuti had a ready answer: “Responsible stewardship is about the entire human race being mindful of how we will leave this planet for the next generations. I do believe that church leaders, and the church in general, and the World Council of Churches have got a great responsibility—and a special one for that matter—to spread the message of responsible stewardship. We are called to be responsible stewards, and the young people and the children of today are calling for climate justice and a livable world secured for them. And I do believe that the church and the World Council of Churches can unite the people to stand up for climate action and also to stand up for nature.”

Sauca said Wathuti and all young people represent a lot of hope for the future. “I encourage you to go on with these values and create a future which is much better than ours,” he said.

More information about WCC work for and with children