The PDHPE & CAFS Podcast with Kelly Bell
Sep 22, 2026 · 35 min · 13 segments
This week on The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast, Kelly Bell sits down with NSW educator Sarah Tompson, who was born in Papua New Guinea and adopted by an Australian family at three weeks old. Sarah shares…
Sarah ThompsonGuest
Kelly BellHost
And isn't it crazy to think that you have to, like, not justify but explain your own, like, I suppose, like, in CAF's words, like, sense of identity, belonging, you know, to other people.
And then, you know, that whole idea about, you know, socialisation, is it kind of reflecting back on you? Like, hang on, well, I, you know, my life to a point was my life and why are people kind of questioning or just curious, I think curious, like we're always curious to find out.
Like it was hard, you know, just even being out in public, like, you know, Papua New Guinean people are a very small minority of the population.
And, you know, whenever, like I knew growing up and I think, you know, mum and dad were always good about it.
Like they would see a Papua New Guinean person in public and start talking pigeon and then break the ice and, you know, those types of things.
Yeah, because, you know, we're fed this idea, I don't know, socially through friends and family and different things that, you know, blood's so important and your origin and, you know, your background and your ethnicity and your roots.
Like, I feel like I grew up in Western Sydney, so I grew up with a lot of Islander and ethnic families where, you know, that was really strong.
Yeah, that was sort of just, you know, I miss growing up with people that looked like me.
And, you know, the first time I got my hair straightened as a 10-year-old, like, oh, my hair's moving.
And isn't it crazy to think that you have to, like, not justify but explain your own, like, I suppose, like, in CAF's words, like, sense of identity, belonging, you know, to other people.
And then, you know, that whole idea about, you know, socialisation, is it kind of reflecting back on you? Like, hang on, well, I, you know, my life to a point was my life and why are people kind of questioning or just curious, I think curious, like we're always curious to find out.
Like it was hard, you know, just even being out in public, like, you know, Papua New Guinean people are a very small minority of the population.
And, you know, whenever, like I knew growing up and I think, you know, mum and dad were always good about it.
Like they would see a Papua New Guinean person in public and start talking pigeon and then break the ice and, you know, those types of things.
Yeah, because, you know, we're fed this idea, I don't know, socially through friends and family and different things that, you know, blood's so important and your origin and, you know, your background and your ethnicity and your roots.
Like, I feel like I grew up in Western Sydney, so I grew up with a lot of Islander and ethnic families where, you know, that was really strong.
Yeah, that was sort of just, you know, I miss growing up with people that looked like me.
And, you know, the first time I got my hair straightened as a 10-year-old, like, oh, my hair's moving.
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