By Fr Anthony Kishore Minj, SDB

Darkhan, Mongolia, 24 February 2019 -- A group of children from Auxilium parish Darkhan, Mongolia, went to Korea for ten days from 11 to 22 February to perform ecological music to bring awareness about environment protection. They were led by Fr Simon Lee, SDB the Rector and the parish priest and Fr Anthony Kishore Minj, SDB. The children went to various parishes, hospitals and other institutions in order to perform the eco music and dance. Eco-Music consists of various natural tools like wood, metals, glasses, bottles, bones, plastic fibres horns of the animals and many other things. The music was typically Mongolian; Mongolians have their own traditional music which mimics various animals and sounds of nature. They are very close to nature. They can compose music with any materials; the traditional music was composed by Jaminkharal who is well known and was awarded in a Mongolian talent contest. He has been the music teacher of children in Darkhan, he accompanied the children in Korea. During the performance Fr Simon spoke about Mongolian culture, environment protection, green alliance, mentioning ‘Laudato si’ Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment and human ecology.

The music show was broadcast on the Catholic TV channel and as well as radio. It was a wonderful exposure for children and an eye-opener for many Korean people. It was well appreciated especially the culture, tradition and landscape of Mongolia. The Monglian Delegation expresses sincere gratitude to all the conferrers in the provincial house who provided food and accommodation for our children. The children too came back with a lot of new learning experiences. We hope to continue to share the experience with other countries regarding environment and wild life protection.

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