30th August, 2012

National Others Week - to be held over the week of 29th October to 4th November - has been officially launched at Parliament House in Canberra.

Left to right: Pastor Ken Wootton - Global Care general manager, Kevin Andrews - Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services, and Pastor Peter Pilt - Global Care national director, at the launch.

The week, an initiative of Global Care Australia - the social justice and disaster relief arm of Christian Outreach Centre, has been created to encourage Australians to focus on others instead of themselves for a week. The theme of the week is 'Because Life is a Team Sport'.

Speaking at the launch, Kevin Andrews, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services, said he wanted to encourage people to "look beyond their own four walls, and just ‘be there’ for someone else – to be a ‘mate’ to them."

“Psychologists tell us that helping others actually builds our own self-esteem and sense of well-being – in other words, when we choose to bless others, we also benefit ourselves," he said.

Pastor Peter Pilt, Global Care's national director, said the week was a chance to remind people that love and kindness were never wasted.

"We get so caught up in the busyness of life, we forget about the incredible power of focusing on others. There is no such thing as a small act of kindness - every act, no matter how seemingly insignificant, has a ripple effect that spreads out forever in all directions."

~ globalcare.com.au

- DAVID ADAMS