Brave Sian stands up to bullies with an empowering message

The $10,000 Westfield Local Heroes grant has enabled Kidzucate to create advocacy packs for kids in the community, as well as running programs with local schools and organisations.

Kidzucate has secured sponsors and interest from kids' organisations, sparking international advocacy and even sent an extra five packs abroad to help kids.

Sian Williams did not like being bullied because of her stutter. So, at the ripe old age of six, she decided to do something meaningful about it.

“I used to stutter a lot and I still do, but I’m much better now,” Sian says.

“My peers bullied and mocked me all the time. One day I came home from school, jumped on my bed and cried my eyes out.”

When her mum asked her what was wrong she said she was praying to God to take her voice away.

But then she decided she had a right to stand up to the other kids. She also decided she would help other children learn how to stand up for themselves.

So, with her mum’s help, Sian started Kidzucate in 2012 to empower young people with the knowledge and awareness required to break the chain of bullying.

Kidzucate started off small but has grown considerably over the years.

“I was not expecting this at all,” says Sian, who is now aged 11. “I think I have impacted many people I don’t even know.”

She has not let her stutter hold her back from public speaking and she regularly delivers talks to large groups of children, young people and adults about her vision for creating a happier world.

In 2014, Sian attended a youth summit organised by Youth for Human Rights in Brussels and was awarded the Human Rights Hero Award. In 2017, she received the City of Joondalup Student Citizenship Award for her advocacy work in the community.

Sian is greatly appreciative and honoured to be voted a Westfield Local Hero. “I’m so proud of what my mum and I have accomplished over the years. It is so cool to know that the community appreciates the work we do.”

For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here.