Episode 20 - Led by Heartstrings: Jonah’s Search for Culture, Family & Self

Hey everyone, today I sit down and talk with another podcaster Jonah.

Jonah was Born in Cairns and immediately placed in foster care, Jonah grew up with his adoptive family in Brisbane and Growing up in a Caucasian Australian family, Jonah felt disconnected from his Papua New Guinea heritage and culture.

 In 2020, at the age of 22, Jonah embarked on a journey to reunite with his birth family, to reconnect with his heritage and unearth his self-identity. He launched an award-winning podcast, Led By A Heartstring, to invite the world to follow his journey and delve into the world of adoption.

For Jonah, his adoption has played a huge part in shaping who he is. “Being adopted, you don’t really lack that part of self-identity because you find it wherever you are, and whoever you’re exposed to and whoever you live with” he says.

 Jonah is still searching for his biological family, it’s taking longer than he first thought, but this hasn’t stopped him from speaking out on adoption and collecting bits and pieces of information everyday to help his own journey of self-identity. 

I wish Jonah all the best of luck in finding his birth family in Papua New Guinea which gets him one step closer, one layer added in forming his identity. 

We shared this conversation on Yugambeh region, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, i pay my respects to their elders past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This special chat with Jonah was simply beautiful I can’t wait for you all to listen to this episode.