A Home and Healing for Every Child

In this episode of A Home and Healing for Every Child, host Melissa Doyle AM sits down with actress and Adopt Change advocate Zufi Emerson for a heartfelt and life-affirming conversation. 

Zufi reflects on her family’s adoption journey, sharing the unique perspectives she and her brothers experienced growing up, and the simple honesty of children’s curiosity.

Melissa and Zufi connect through their shared ties to Ethiopian culture, exploring both personal and global perspectives on adoption. 

Together, they dive into their roles as ambassadors, the lessons learned along the way, and the changes still needed to ensure every child has the chance to grow up in a safe and loving home. 

Optimistic, determined, and full of light, Zufi offers a powerful voice for children and families. 

In this special bonus episode of A Home and Healing for Every Child, Ambassador and host Jonah Bobongie is joined by fellow Adopt Change Ambassadors Joel de Carteret and Brad Murphy for an honest conversation about adoption, identity and the lifelong process of healing. 

Each of these men has walked a different road – through reunion, grief, trauma, growth and resilience. Now, they come together to reflect on the threads that connect their stories and the lessons that emerge when those experiences are shared.

They explore what it means to tell your story as an adult, how that story evolves over time and the way healing reshapes our understanding of the past.

This episode is a reminder that no two journeys are alike – but healing deepens when stories are spoken and carried together.

In this episode of A Home and Healing for Every Child, Ambassador and lived experience advocate Emily Hikaiti is joined by fellow Ambassador – adoptee and filmmaker – Joel de Carteret. Joel shares his remarkable journey of returning to the Philippines and the life-changing experience of reconnecting with his birth family.  
 
But Joel’s story doesn’t end there. He opens up about the evolving complexities of cultural identity, the lifelong impact of childhood trauma and his pursuit of healing through movement, film and dance.  
 
With honesty and deep insight, Joel reflects on what it truly means to come home to yourself. This is a powerful conversation about memory, belonging and the ongoing work of healing.  

In this open and reflective conversation of A Home and Healing for Every Child, Board Member and Adoptee Gabrielle Stricker-Phelps sits down with Ambassador and fellow Adoptee Jonah Bobongie for a conversation about growing up, identity, and the many sides of adoption.  

Jonah shares what it was like to grow up in Brisbane with a loving adoptive family while feeling disconnected from his Papua New Guinean roots and how that shaped his understanding of culture, identity, and belonging. Together, Gabi and Jonah explore the support they found in their families and friends, the early awareness they had of being adopted, and how stigma can linger even in the most positive of adoption stories.  
 

From Launching Led By A Heartstring and finding the time to live life as a young adult, Jonah is able to reflect on the power of storytelling, the nuances in family, the strength that can come from healing in a way that can come in a way that doesn’t fit with society’s expectations of what an adoptee’s journey “should” look like.  
 
This is a conversation about connecting, choice, and the importance of making space for all adoption stories.  

In this heartfelt episode, journalist and FutureWomen founder Helen McCabe speaks with former AFL player Brad Murphy about his early years in foster care, being adopted into a loving family and the lasting impact those experiences have had on his life. 

Brad reflects on growing up surrounded by strong support, the values instilled by his adoptive parents and how those foundations helped him navigate the demands of elite sport and life beyond the game. He speaks openly about how his upbringing has shaped his approach to fatherhood, coaching and giving back to his community. 

This is a grounded and moving conversation about the power of a nurturing family environment, the importance of connection and what it means to thrive.