Stepping out with ALWS

Written by Emma Hansen, Lutheran Young Adult & ALWS Community Engagement Officer 

Have you ever felt super discouraged by the direction of our world?  

• The stark contradiction that 38% of the world is battling obesity, while so many others are starving.  
• How the place you’re born can dictate whether you will be respected, heard or successful. 
• How some of us think school is a waste of time, while for others, it’s their entire lifeline. 
• Or how some of us are overwhelmed with decision-fatigue, while others would do anything to be given an opportunity 

Me too. 

So how can we, in the land of plenty, sit with this information … and do nothing? 

Ignorance, distraction and greed create the perfect recipe to numb ourselves to injustice, especially when we can’t tangibly see the hurt it causes. This is what stops people, like us, from stepping up! 

… but even if we are willing to step up, what impact could we possibly make?  

If you’re like me, you’ll read the news headlines feeling deflated and powerless, but while we can’t do much to influence foreign governments from our cozy Australian neighbourhoods, we are privileged to have local partners on the ground in vulnerable countries to do this work for us! … to feed the poor, to educate the children, to home the homeless, to advocate for the oppressed, and to create livelihoods for the ambitious!  

I have always been so encouraged by this “people help the people” mentality- the power of united “everyday people” in an active, relational and meaningful display of love. This year, YOU can join us and these overseas partners in making a real difference. 

In 2025, Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) is celebrating its 75^th anniversary of lending a hand to some of the world’s most vulnerable and often forgotten people- and to celebrate this milestone- we are hosting something big. 

This year, you can help us send 75,000 children to school – This is 75,000 children that will have their futures and sense of self rewritten by your kindness and walking shoes. 

We are Stepping Out to help more Children Step Up!  

Come join us at our Walk My Walk in Adelaide at the Australian Lutheran College on the 3^rd of May 2025! Walk the grounds at ALC one last time with us at one of the last formal events on-site. We will walk 3km or 10km along the River Torrens as a Lutheran community and spend time together at our Community Hub before and after the walk. Walking not your style? So fine! There’s truly something for everyone at our all-day Community Hub from your kids to your grandparents- we will have food trucks, live performances, kids’ zones and more!

YOUR participation will change lives! Your registration fee and all the extra money you raise by fundraising will bring much needed funding to support less-fortunate families in their need, all just by stepping out! 

The money we raise will specifically….   

• Provide school kits for refugee children in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. 

• Provide maize seeds to families in Burundi so they can provide for their children. 

• Provide hygiene kits for young children in South Sudan. 

• Provide clean and stable-flowing drinking water for children impacted by the war in Ukraine. 

Just $25 can send a child to school for a year… so think about the impact we can have when we all come together!  

… but don’t just take my word for it, hear from local Christian young adults, Macey, Darly, Christian and Tim about why they choose to Step Out each year! 

“Walk My Way shows the power of community. It’s a time to bring together friends from all over the city in an ultimate display of love.  Last year, I was invited along by a friend in a volunteering capacity to assist with the running of the day, but this year, I would go regardless because I don’t think there’s anything more powerful than seeing over 800 people make space in their schedules to create a sea of blue, walking in support of those who need our help. Those who equally deserve safety, protection, love, care and all the other basics we enjoy here in Australia. I loved watching our different communities unite and share in fellowship at the Community Hub – honourable mention to the food trucks too… so yum!!”  

– Macey, 19. 

“Walk My Way is so much more than a fundraising event, it’s a thought-provoking, heart-stirring opportunity to consider those in need, beyond the borders of our lives. Since my walk last year, I have continued to consider and pray for those in need. There are families across the world that need our support, and to unite together and walk for them is a small and hugely impactful way to declare that the needy and disadvantaged are not alone, nor are they without help. Walk My Way is just a drop in the ocean- but it’s this ‘loaves and fishes’ mindset that will make a big splash in so many lives when we come together. In this unified display, we are saying “we are not okay with this” on a large scale. It is giving a voice to our churches, allowing us to live out our faith practically and be a testament to Jesus’ heart for the vulnerable. I am looking forward to walking with friends and family this year, and bringing to mind and heart once again, the importance of advocating for those who need others to speak up and help bring lasting change to their lives.” 

– Darly, 24. 

“I participated in Walk My Way Ukraine last year in support for those overseas who are doing it rough. I appreciated going out with hundreds of others and making a visible statement wearing the blue and yellow and seeing the public turn their heads and wonder what on earth is happening. I think the motivation to participate in Walk My Way this year is the belief in something that is bigger than us – a living and breathing community but also God and His love for all people, including those who are struggling. As a young adult, I may not have a lot of money to give, but I do have legs that still work and it’s the least I can do for God’s global community with my mates beside me.” 

– Christian, 25. 

“Walk My Way is an opportunity for people to think beyond themselves, to do something that has very little to do with them. Our culture is so “me-focussed” and is obsessed with having more. We all hustle to have the flashiest things (things we don’t even need) and the biggest salaries, meanwhile the very basics we take for granted become luxuries in so many places.  I think it is such a powerful conviction for all of us to wrestle with, and I, for one, want to do something about it. I want my money and time to be used in meaningful ways. I walk because I want to create an example for my peers that I put my words into action… that I walk the walk.” 

– Tim, 28 

So, Step Out to show these children that they matter.  

Step Out to educate your families, friends and churches about injustice. 

Step Out so a child can Step Up! 

Go to Adelaide – ALWS75 | HomePage to find out more & register.