The JCAP Major Superiors Assembly approved the Flagship Project, “Caring for Communities and Creation” in January 2022 to realize one of its 2021-2025 Apostolic Plan goal to  “commit ourselves to the urgent call of poverty and reconciliation with creation in Asia Pacific”.  The three-pronged approach consisted of (1) Transitioning to Cleaner Energy, (2) Youth Leading the Future, and (3) Strengthening Local Communities. Is the Flagship sinking or sailing? While the task of moving various stakeholders aligned with the shared approaches towards a common vision remains challenging, the Flagship Project continues to sail on.

On 10 October 2024, seventeen (17) online participants representing ten (10) JRS, Jesuit academic and outreach organizations and indigenous communities attended the 40-4-40 Partners Meeting and C3P3 Project Launch. Jesuit Mission Australia Program Director, Ms. Kath Rosic, participated and spoke about the opportunities and hope in the newly-launched C3P3 project that they are supporting. Also present with the JCAP Flagship Project Coordinating team was Pedro Walpole, EcoJesuit Coordinator.

The Caring for Communities and Creation-Pillar 3 (C3P3) project focuses on one of the approaches which is the strengthening of communities through growing trees and mangroves. C3P3 is building on the achievements of an earlier project, 40-4-40 (2021-2023), that was coordinated by JRS Asia Pacific on the occasion of its 40^th anniversary. Twenty eight (28) indigenous upland and coastal communities from five (5) countries have grown more than 40,000 trees. For each tree grown for a year, the community gets a dollar each tree to support ecological and socio-economic initiatives.

Some of the notable community projects and organizations are: a community forest committee in Prey Lang, Cambodia had planted 4,000 trees to help build a forest monitoring office as commercial projects encroach on  this last major lowland rain forest on the Southeast Asian mainland; youth leaders in Bendum, Bukidnon from the APC Forest, Farm, Leadership in the Margins (APC-FFLM) have regenerated 2,000 endemic species to protect their community drinking water source and forest resources; a Subanen community assisted by Ateneo de Zamboanga with the technical help of the City Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office in southwestern Philippines have planted 2,000 native and fruit trees to protect their forest and open opportunities for community livelihoods; 10 internally displaced communities in southeast Myanmar that JRS is working with have found the growing of 9,758 trees a bridge towards mending tense relations with host communities and replenishing the natural resources they have used in building a temporary settlement; and a coastal community in Semarang, Indonesia assisted by the Archdiocese and JRS Indonesia have created a mangrove sea belt with an initial 4,250 mangrove seeds to protect them from the seasonal flooding and rising tide.

Now, C3P3 is looking to increase coverage to 50,000 more trees grown by stronger communities and network. In 2024, upland and coastal communities in the Philippines and Indonesia will grow 5,000 endemic forest tree species and mangroves. In 2025-2026, 45,000 more trees will be grown.

Indeed, the Flagship Project continues to sail on. However, “all hands on deck” is required to not only simply sail on, but to row together with a unified direction steered by the JCAP Apostolic Plan.