Have you ever had a chance to walk around Granite Island at Victor Harbor? It is a beautiful part of our state. This was the location of our recent walk-a-thon for Australian Lutheran World Service’s (ALWS) Walk My Way. We were so happy to have nearly 90 students (Years 5-10), staff and parents walk either 13 or 20km from Encounter Lutheran College to Granite Island and back, to raise funds to enable refugee children to attend school in places such as East Africa and Myanmar. You may have heard that we raised over $22,000 in total, enabling approximately 850 children to be provided an education, which will change many lives, potentially for generations.

I would like to express our most sincere thanks and gratitude to all families and friends of the College who contributed in any way to this appeal. Your generosity towards this event (and others like it) are so much appreciated by ALWS and the College. As a Christian community we believe it is so important to teach our children the importance of acting in compassion and service as we notice people in our world who are in need. Walk My Way enables students to not only engage in the walk and raise funds, but to also learn more deeply about ALWS’s work and how the funds help other children in real ways. Students who participated in the walk have given up more of their time since the walk, writing articles and letters of thanks as well as leading class devotions, Chapels and Assemblies to share their knowledge and understanding about this work.

We hope that this is another way to help our community to keep looking out for others, as Jesus asks of us – “Love one another, as I have loved you.” - John 13:34 (paraphrased).

Mark Rathjen
College Chaplain