Running. Carrying the voices of people living with epilepsy.

This May, Rafa Garcia will take on a multi-day run of roughly 325km from the Sydney Opera House to Parliament House in Canberra, using service roads rather than the main highway, to help carry the voices of Australians living with epilepsy to the heart of government.

Departing the Opera House 6am on the 8th of May and arriving at Parliament House mid-day on the 14th May.

This is more than an endurance challenge.

It is a national awareness campaign, a call for collaboration across the epilepsy community, and a powerful way to shine a light on the realities families face every day.

At a time when Australia is holding a Senate Inquiry into epilepsy, we want to help make sure this moment is seen, felt, and impossible to ignore.

Why this matters

Epilepsy affects every part of life.

It can affect safety, schooling, work, mental health, independence, finances, relationships, access to care, and the future families imagine for themselves. For many people, it also means living with uncertainty every single day.

Right now, there is a rare national opportunity to push for change.

The Senate Inquiry into Epilepsy in Australia is specifically looking at barriers to diagnosis, access to appropriate treatment, drug-resistant epilepsy and its psychosocial and economic impacts, community understanding, access to support services after diagnosis including the NDIS, and research funding.

This project exists to help bring more eyes, more voices, and more urgency to that process.

The mission

Rafa is running to Parliament not just for the challenge, but for what it represents.

He will be carrying the stories, struggles, and hopes of people living with epilepsy across Australia.

We want politicians to see this.

We want media to cover this.

We want the public to follow this.

We want the inquiry to feel the weight of our community’s lived experience.

We want all eyes on epilepsy.

What this project is

All Eyes on Epilepsy is a multi-layered national campaign built around one powerful act: a long-distance run from Sydney to Canberra to draw attention to epilepsy and the urgent need for better support.

It includes:

• a multi-day run from the Sydney Opera House to Parliament House
• community story collection to help shape advocacy and awareness
• collaboration with epilepsy foundations, organisations, and charities
• digital storytelling across the journey
• media and public attention to amplify the Senate Inquiry
• a visible, human moment that helps bring epilepsy into national conversation
  

This is not about one person and it is not about one organisation.

This is about building a movement the whole epilepsy community can stand behind.

A collaborative national moment

We are actively seeking collaboration with epilepsy foundations, charities, support organisations, advocates, and community groups across Australia.

The opportunity is too important to miss.

Many organisations are already preparing their own submissions to the Senate Inquiry. We would love this project to help amplify that work through a shared national moment of visibility.

Our vision is simple:

• organisations can maintain their own identity, voice, and submission
• Rafa can physically carry and symbolically deliver those voices in person
• together, we can show Parliament that epilepsy is not a niche issue - it is a national one
  

If your organisation would like to collaborate, we would love to hear from you.

How you can help

To make this happen, we need support from individuals, businesses, media, organisations, and the wider community.

We need practical support

We are currently seeking help with:

• fuel sponsorship
• recovery support
• physiotherapy or sports therapy support
• first aid and medical supplies
• PR and media connections
• businesses willing to sponsor or contribute in-kind
  

We need visibility

We also need people to:

• follow the journey
• share the campaign
• send it to media contacts
• tell local politicians
• talk about the inquiry
• help us get this in front of as many Australians as possible
  

Because the more people who know about this, the more attention the inquiry receives.

And the more attention the inquiry receives, the harder it becomes to overlook the needs of the epilepsy community.

Why now

This project is happening while the Senate Inquiry is open.

Submissions close on 15 May 2026, and the committee is due to report by 10 September 2026. Rafa’s arrival at Parliament House on 14 May is intended to help focus public and political attention right at the point the inquiry is reaching its submission deadline.

This is a moment to act.

Not later. Now.

What success looks like

Success looks like:

• more Australians understanding epilepsy
• more people engaging with the inquiry
• more lived experiences being seen and heard
• stronger collaboration across the epilepsy sector
• more media coverage
• more political attention
• more momentum for essential support, services, and research
  

And beyond this project, success looks like something even bigger:

a community that feels united, visible, and impossible to ignore.

This is an underdog movement

We know this is ambitious.

We know it asks a lot.

But we also know that some of the most powerful movements begin when ordinary people decide that staying quiet is no longer enough.

This is an underdog movement.

A movement built on lived experience, grit, love, community, and the belief that change is possible.

A movement that can inspire the country.

A movement that says epilepsy deserves attention, understanding, action, and support.

Get involved

Whether you are an individual, a family, a business, a journalist, a creator, a politician, or an organisation - there is a place for you in this.

You can help by:

• offering goods or services
• sponsoring the project
• joining as a partner organisation
• amplifying the campaign
• connecting us with media or decision-makers
• donating to help make it happen
  

Let’s put all eyes on epilepsy.