Relationships2 min(s) read
Published 10:36 02 Mar 2020 GMT
Last month, people around the world were moved by the story of nine-year-old Brisbane boy Quaden Bayles.
Quaden's mom, Yarraka Bayles, live-streamed a video on Facebook showing the inconsolable schoolboy saying he wanted to end his life as a result of bullying. In the video, Quaden can be heard telling his mom: "Give me a knife, I'm going to kill myself."
Yarraka accompanied the distressing footage with the caption: "This is the [impact] of bullying! I seriously don’t know what else to do".
You can watch the full video below (Warning: some viewers may find it upsetting):
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Quaden was born with achondroplasia - the most common form of short-limbed Dwarfism - a condition that his mom says has led "constant bullying" from his peers. Speaking to NITV News, Ms Bayles revealed how Quaden's comments made her feel "helpless".
In response to the video, Quaden has been met with an outpouring of support from people all over the world. Celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and Cardi B have posted videos of support for Quaden.
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In the video, Jackman tells Quaden: "Quaden, you are stronger than you know mate, and no matter what, you've got a friend in me. So, everyone let's please be kind to each other - bullying is not OK", before adding; "Life is hard enough, so let's remember, every person in front of us is facing some kind of battle, so let's just be kind."
Another individual who has reached out to Quaden is "resilience educator" Brook Gibbs.
Taking to Instagram, Gibbs shared a picture of himself talking to Quaden, along with the caption explaining that he is helping the youngster process the "mean words/actions" he deal with from bullies:
"I have a new buddy named Quaden. The world was introduced to him in an emotional state of suicidal despair. You won’t see that side of him again. I’m honored to be his resilience coach. He’s learning two core skills during our sessions:
"1. How to be unfazed by the mean words/actions of others
"2. How to be kind to everyone, even the jerks in his life.
"With his awesome mother’s help reinforcing these lessons, I believe he will be prepared to do great things and make the world a better place. #TeamQuaden"
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Last week, Quaden's family revealed that he would not be accepting the all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland that was funded by thousands of donations on GoFundMe.
Comedian Brad Williams, who, like Quaden, was born with achondroplasia, set up the GoFundMe with the intention of raising $10,000 to help send the nine-year-old and his mother to Disneyland California. All additional money would be used for charitable purposes.
However, despite more than $460,000 dollars being raised, the Bayles family won't be accepting a penny of the money raised - and as such, the Disneyland trip will not be going ahead.
In an interview with Australia's NITV News, Quaden's Aunty Mundanara Bayles explained that the family would prefer that the money went to charity.
She said: "What kid wouldn’t want to go to Disneyland, especially if you have lived Quaden’s life. But my sister said: 'You know what, let’s get back to the real issue'. We want the money to go to community organizations that really need it.
"They know what the money should be spent on, So as much as we want to go to Disneyland, I think our community would far off benefit from that."
PLEASE, if you or anybody you know is having suicidal thoughts, reach out to somebody or contact one of the mental health charities below:
CALM: www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
Heads Together: www.headstogether.org.uk
Mind: www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
Papyrus: www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
Samaritans: www.samaritans.org, 116 123
If you are a non-UK resident, please find a list of mental health charities HERE.
