Jandamarra O'Shane wants to meet the man who set fire to him in a Cairns schoolyard 15 years ago.

He wants to let him know that, despite all he has suffered, he forgives him.

Jandamarra was just six when Paul Wade Streeton burst through the gates of Cairns North State School, doused him in petrol and set him alight.

The youngster ran screaming through the school, attracting the attention of principal Michael Aitken, who smothered the flames with his shirt and hands.

Jandamarra suffered burns to 70 per cent of his body and doctors gave him little chance of survival, but he pulled through.

In the process he captured the hearts of the nation.

Life has not exactly been easy since then; Jandamarra was bullied at school as a result of his burns and the scars are still visible.

However, he says he has forgiven Streeton and wants to meet him when he eventually gets out of jail.

"I would love to meet him and just let him know I forgive him," he said.

"I think there is a lot of people in my family who don't, but I think the important thing is that I forgive him and my parents forgive him.

"For me it wasn't easy, but to spend 15 years in jail, I guess that's not easy either."

Jandamarra turns 21 on Monday and his partner recently gave birth to their first son, a boy they named Raupena.

"I couldn't be happier right now. I had a son about two months ago and that in itself is amazing," he said.

"I never thought that I would get to have a good missus and a child of my own."

He said forgiving Streeton, who is serving a life sentence for the attack, was his way of moving on.

"You can't really get anywhere in life unless you get past these obstacles," he said.

Jandamarra decided on a low-key celebration for his 21st, travelling from Cairns to Townsville with some friends and family to watch Darren Lockyer notch up his 350th NRL match against the North Queensland Cowboys.

AAP