Oasis Magazine - Cairns & Tropical North Queensland Issue 22 - Feb|Mar 2018 | Page 13

P ineapple
VILLAGE
to my own daughter, Stella. At the tender
age of 4, she is a sweet and sensitive
soul, about to embark on her own school
journey.
Kylie Bean, founder of Pineapple
Village shares her thoughts on bullying
and her inspiration to instigate action.
As I poured a morning coffee and flicked
through my newsfeed recently, I saw
a 14-year-old had taken her own life. It
stopped me in my tracks.
Dolly Everett had been bullied to a point
where she could no longer see benefit
in living. Thinking of the grief her family
would be feeling, losing their daughter
under such unfathomable circumstances,
reduced me to tears. My thoughts drifted
As an X-ennial - a child of the 80s and a
teen of the 90s - schoolyard bullying was
ever-present; however it came in more
obvious forms. There was pushing, name
calling and teasing; your standard mean
girls and schoolyard bullies. But seeing
current day stories of teenagers dealing
with cyber-bullying makes me fear this
age of technology and what’s in store for
my daughter’s future.
I wanted to do something - anything - to
try to prevent this happening again.
My mission was to create a Cairns-based
online village to raise awareness about
bullying: a place where people could feel
safe, increase their confidence, share
experiences with others and offer a
shoulder to cry on.
So far, I have shared tips on how to
respond to cyber-bullies, contact details
for some of Australia’s best counselling
organisations and in coming weeks, I
will be sharing information on social
media account security, tips for parents,
and peoples own accounts with bullying.
I hope to create a library of practical
information that people can use and
share to inspire and educate others.
Anyone who wishes to take a stand against
bullying is invited to join our Pineapple
Village! Search for @pinepplevillage on
Facebook and Instagram.
Stand tall, wear a crown, be sweet on
the inside. Be a Pineapple.
OPEN 5am - 10pm EVERYDAY
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DRIVE THRU
Cairns Showground Shopping Centre, Cnr Mulgrave Rd & Buchan St
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Issue 22 |
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