Make A Wish Australia, Children's Charity - Freyja on her wish next to the blue ocean Make A Wish Australia, Children's Charity - Freyja on her wish next to the blue ocean

Freyja's wish to visit dugongs (and save the ocean)

What started as a wish to see the marine animals she loves soon kick-started a personal mission - and public campaign - to combat single-use plastic bags. Find out more about Freyja and her inspiring story here.

Meet Freyja

This tenacious little mermaid is Freyja, an 8 year old fighting a very rare form of cancer called Clear Cell Sarcoma.

Freyja loves animals, especially marine life, and she is passionate about the environment.

Frejya's wish was to visit Queensland and see the dugongs and dolphins - however her wish ran much deeper than simply seeing these beautiful animals swim in the wild.

Make A Wish Australia Children's Charity - Freyja on her wish to meet the dugongs with her friend on a boat

Freyja's cancer was so rare that it took a team of international specialists to identify.

Lizzie Freyja's mum

The wish

A personal mission

Freyja's wish came true in 2018, but seeing the dugongs and dolphins swimming really was only the beginning.

While visiting Queensland, Freyja walked the beaches with her family, picking up rubbish and doing what they could to reduce plastic entering the ocean.

Later, during a hospital visit, Freyja organised a meeting to talk with staff about reducing the use of plastic within the hospital.

Her passion for the environment and reducing the amount of plastic in our oceans is absolutely inspiring!

Make A Wish Australia Children's Charity - Freyja's tote bag with the design she created of dugongs and dolphins

the wish effect

A long-lasting ripple effect

In late 2018, Freyja designed her very own tote bag to help raise awareness and combat the use of single-use bags - with artwork representing the dugongs and dolphins currently are at risk because of the enormous amounts of plastic in their ocean home.

Featuring hand-drawn designs by Freyja and her older sister, this unique tote bag was produced thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign on Pozible.

Freyja is still undergoing regular tests to monitor her cancer. But wish mum Lizzie said the tote bag campaign had been a positive for Freyja.

"We wanted to find a project that would keep her looking forward. We came up with this idea of focussing on the environment and something else that needed saving, not just her," Lizzie said.

The Wish Journey

How a wish comes to life

Make-A-Wish volunteers visit each child to capture their greatest wish, getting to the heart of what kids truly want and why. This profound insight is part of what makes Make-A-Wish unique, giving children full creative control and helping to shape their entire Wish Journey.

Back at Make-A-Wish HQ, we partner with families, volunteers and medical teams to design the ultimate wish experience - and start rallying our partners and supporters to help make it happen.

In the lead up to the wish, we take each child on a journey designed to build excitement and provide a welcome distraction from medical treatment. Anticipation can be incredibly powerful, helping to calm, distract and inspire sick kids at a time they need it most.

When the moment finally arrives, children get to experience their greatest wish come true - it's everything they've imagined and more. Pinch yourself, and don't forget to take a breath and enjoy every precious moment!

Wish impact studies show that a child's wish lives on, long after the moment. A wish gives more than just hope – with an incredible and lasting effect on the lives of sick kids, their families and wider communities.