Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Freya Kitney

Mr STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (09:47): I rise to congratulate Freya Kitney on her outstanding work. Freya is 11 years old and in grade 6 at McKinnon Primary School. When she was in grade 1 she was diagnosed with epilepsy. She is one of 250 000 Australians living with epilepsy each and every day. It is estimated that one in 100 people globally have epilepsy, and in 50 per cent of cases the cause is unknown. Despite being diagnosed at such a young age Freya continues to live her life to the fullest. She was recently elected red house captain, she is a member of the Elite All-Stars cheerleading team and has qualified to represent her school at the district swimming competition.

For the second year in a row Freya has led McKinnon Primary’s effort in supporting Purple Day on 26 March. For those who do not know, Purple Day is a grassroots effort dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Epilepsy Australia and the Epilepsy Foundation. It was founded in 2008 by nine-year-old Canadian Cassidy Megan. Motivated by her own struggle with epilepsy, Cassidy started Purple Day, named after the internationally recognised colour for epilepsy. Cassidy and Freya share a similar journey—a journey which has gone from being secretive about their condition to, in Freya’s case, leading a local effort in making it that little bit easier for others with epilepsy. I stand with Freya in asking all Victorians to wear a touch of purple, like I am today, on 26 March to show support for people living with epilepsy.