FIRE Carriers

2024 FIRE Carriers

FIRE stands for Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education. The FIRE Carrier Project is a joint initiative of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Victoria and the Opening the Doors Foundation with the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools.  The story of FIRE Carriers began with a dream to bring Aboriginal culture, history and spirituality into the forefront of education in Catholic schools. It was important to teach the stories of the oldest living culture to our youngest generations to ensure the living truth, the dreams and hopes of our Indigenous people were heard. This would be a genuine pathway to reconciliation. The fire spread and the initiative of the FIRE Carriers has grown throughout Melbourne and parts of Victoria for over 10 years. We are grateful to Fiona Lee for returning to OLA a couple of times each term to lead our FIRE Carrier Program at OLA Cheltenham.

Our 2024 FIRE Carriers are:

Lily M

Niamh C

Alicia M

Bella F

Eddie Betts

Hi, my name is Lily. I am one of the F.I.R.E carriers for 2024 and I am going to tell you a little bit about the Aussie legend Eddie Betts.

Eddie was born on 26 November 1986. Eddie is part of the Gubrun people of the Kalgoorlie Goldfields and also part of the Wirangu/Kokatha people of the Far-West coast of South Australia. Eddie is the father of 5 children Lewis, Billy, Alice, Maggie, Sonny and is married to Anna Scullie. 

He played 350 games for Adelaide Crows and Carlton.  Life after Eddie’s retirement was busy, he worked for Geelong Football Club in a development coaching role, playing a part in their 2022 premiership success. Eddie is a media presenter for Fox Footy and also provides consultation and guest speaking services for organizations.

Eddie has created The Eddie Betts Foundation that aims to make a positive impact in Aboriginal communities through sport and education and has a number of programs including a football program, a mentoring program and an education program.

Lily M 

FIRE Carrier