Australia is one of the largest countries on earth and the only country in the world that covers an entire continent – the continent of Oceania. More than one-third of Australia is desert, and the largest collection of deserts are in the Australian Outback (a remote rural area). In the Outback temperatures are scorching, there is little water, and almost no vegetation.
Australia’s Aboriginal people learned to live in the harsh conditions of the Outback. Aboriginal people are indigenous; this means they are the first people ever to live in the country. Aborigines arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago.
Nearly a quarter of the people who live in Australia today were born in other countries, making it one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world. About 43% of people in Australia are Christian, and children who go to Catholic schools like yours make a special effort in October, to pray and share for Mission Together. They call the month ‘Socktober’.
In Socktober, children take action against poverty in the world through soccer. Across the world, soccer brings together people of all ages and backgrounds. But it can also help us see great unfairness too, not least in the balls children use to play. You can see examples of this in the film below. Money raised for Mission Together by children in Australia helps support our sisters and brothers in countries like Myanmar and Papua New Guinea. Why not travel there next?