West Australian student’s fight against bullying culture
Note: This post mentions suicide. If you need support it is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 and Lifeline on 13 11 14.
When Kohbi Barrow was just 6 years old he started volunteering. The now 12 year old has an impressive resume of experience, from raising money for his neighbourhood's Cancer support group to writing and presenting a speech to hundreds of adults about bullying from a kid’s point of view.
The inspiring student from St Cecilia’s in the Pilbara region loves getting involved and giving back to the community. Kohbi’s initiative to raise awareness about bullying as well as his selfless dedication to volunteering earned him a well deserved 2021 Edstart Achievement Award in the Social impact category.
The ‘No bullying’ coffee lid project
Kohbi’s experience of verbal and physical bullying motivated him to tackle the difficult and all too common issue present in Australian schools. He aims to help change the culture of bullying by increasing understanding of it’s detrimental impacts such as anxiety, depression and youth suicide.
To raise awareness of bullying prevention, Kohbi started a unique fundraising initiative called The Coffee Lid Project. On the 7th of August 2021, for 96 minutes local participating cafes donated 14 cents from each coffee sale to the charity Dolly’s Dream.
These numbers have significant meaning to Kohbi and Dolly’s Dream - 7 stands for the 7 signs of bullying, 96 denotes the number of children aged between 5 to 17 who took their own life in 2019 and 14 was Dolly’s age when she died by suicide.
Leading by example
With the support of his community The Coffee Lid Project was a success, and Kohbi held a second event on December 7th with new venues coming on board. He has raised and donated thousands of dollars for Dolly’s Dream placing him in the top 10 highest fundraisers for the charity.
Kohbi’s impact extends beyond his commitment against bullying, he’s been acknowledged by multiple awards such as being named Port Hedland Young Citizen of the Year for his contributions to the greater good of the community and recognised in WA State Parliament.
Supporting the cause
Earlier this year Kohbi started his Kindness and Thanks podcast using his $1,500 Edstart Achievement Awards grant. He’ll be leveraging his platform to promote positive mental health and plans to share stories about kids making a difference. You can send Kohbi ideas and suggestions at kohbimyhappyplace@gmail.com.
We’re glad to be supporting Kohbi and his great cause to end bullying in Australian schools.
About Edstart
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more
Edstart is a leading technology and financial services company providing funding and payment services for education. We offer fee management solutions to schools and flexible payment plans to parents to help make school fees easier to manage.
To see how we can help you, visit our main website.
Find out more