The World Silent Day (WSD) team started a new tradition since 2008 to mark : presenting trees to babies born on 21 March to mark World Silent Day. In addition to asking people to switch off electronic appliances, and reduce the use of motorized vehicles, the WSD team has another mission: One Baby One Tree. The idea was conceived in one of the discussions held by the team, in early 2008. Two women during that discussion suggested giving trees to babies, asking their parents to take of the trees for the babies.

The WSD picked up this idea, as  we think that the best present to give to a baby  is indeed  a useful tree. The tree will belong to the baby and will grow as the baby grows, much like a companion, a friend and a protector. We hope babies will appreciate the value of trees as they grow up with a tree. The culture of planting trees to mark the birth of a baby is present in many indigenous communities. We are just revitalising that culture, giving it a new meaning.

On March 23, four women volunteers of WSD team visited Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, equipped with saplings of white pomegranate, balinese grapefruit, mangosteen and guava. The species were chosen due to their usefulness in terms of providing  nourishing fruits and their medicinal values. They are also easy to grow in Bali.

The volunteers (Kartini, Hira, Denik and Catur) were received by dr. Putra Wibawa, head of the Public Relations division at Sanglah. The hospital welcomed this initiative since 2008 and two doctors came with the volunteers to each of the mother who delivered a baby on March 21st. Dozens of reporters from print and electronic media were also present.

To each of the mother, WSD presented one sapling, explaining the benefits of the tree and explaining the mission behind World Silent Day. We asked that mothers take care of the tree for the babies, so that each baby will grow up having at least one tree. We also asked them not to use chemical fertilisers and explained the medicinal value of each of the tree. For instance the leaves of the guava tree are remedy for diarrhea; they are boiled and the water given to babies. Through one sapling, we shared with the mothers many messages: the world silent day, the need to plant trees and the need for organic farming, to sustain our health and the health of the planet.

In all, eight babies were given one sapling each and two saplings were given to the hospital. We also gave one of the doctors a sapling, because her birthday is 21st March.

The Sanglah hospital and the WSD team  intend to carry on this tradition. It is a small gesture, but much like the idea of World Silent Day, we hope something that is small and local can give a lot of wisdom to the world. WSD team wants to develop a new tradition, a new culture: instead of giving your babies things which are consumptive, give your baby a tree. Our mission is ONE BABY ONE TREE. We start in Bali, you can start in your locality. From each locality, we hope the world will follow this tradition. For the earth and for the future of the babies themselves.

Picture: Mrs Rai given a mangosteen sapling by one of the WSD volunteers. (photo by Luh de Suriyani)

This entry was posted on 31 March 2009 at 12:30 AM and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.