From netball courts to community power: The quiet force of Sigrid Yaru
About this episode
Sigrid Yaru discusses her journey from netball to community advocacy and the importance of Melanesian visibility.
Our guest today is someone who doesn’t just pull up a chair - she builds the table. Born in Lae, Papua New Guinea and raised in Sydney, Australia, Sigrid Yaru navigated the culture shock of a new country through the universal language of netball. What began as a way to belong has grown into a lifetime of quiet, determined work for Melanesian visibility and community care. A community organiser with an open-door policy, a fierce advocate who protects artists and negotiates contracts from her living room, and the co‑founder of Kamp Kumul, Sigrid is creating the childhood magic she remembers for the next generation. In this conversation with Stories From The Pacific’s Wendy Mocke, Sigrid talks about taking up space, the power of simply showing up, and why the world needs to rethink the stories it tells - and consumes - about Papua New Guinea.
People in this episode
Host: Wendy Mocke
Guest: Sigrid Yaru
Topics covered
- community organizing
- Melanesian visibility
- netball
- cultural identity
- advocacy
- childhood magic
Keywords
- Sigrid Yaru
- netball
- community organizing
- Papua New Guinea
- Kamp Kumul
- cultural identity
- advocacy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Kamp Kumul
Places: Papua New Guinea, Lae, Sydney
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