Walking Together: How Yolŋu and researchers are changing health stories together

Two Women, One Island: Life, Change and Belonging in Galiwin’ku

What can two women - one who’s lived in Galiwin’ku most of her life, and one who made it home - teach us about holding knowledge, building community, and navigating change in a remote Yolŋu community? In this episode, we hear from two women with different journeys but a shared commitment to community. Heather Yeparrnga, a Yolŋu educator and grandmother, has lived her whole life in Galiwin’ku. She speaks about what it means to raise strong children, to stay close to country, and to guide the next generation with patience, respect, and Yolŋu values. Sandra Rarrapul Dhamarrandji, who moved to Galiwin’ku ten years ago, brings her own experiences of learning, listening, and finding purpose in a place far from where she began.

Walking Together: How Yolŋu and researchers are changing health stories together

Who controls research, and who benefits from it? Across Australia, Indigenous communities have often been the subjects of research rather than actively leading and shaping it. But in Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island), a different approach is taking hold - one built on co-design, mutual respect, and shared knowledge. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Hanieh speaks with Mrs Ruth Gulamanda Dhurrkay, Mr George Garambaka Gurruwiwi and Dr Ros Beadle, who are working together to create and deliver research that is community driven, shaped by cultural knowledge, and focused on real-world impact.

More than just a place: What it means to live in the Homelands

For Yolŋu people, the homelands are more than just a place to live, they are a way of life, deeply connected to country, culture, and identity. While living on country offers a sense of belonging that town life cannot replace, it also comes with challenges - from rough roads and deteriorating houses to unreliable essential services. In this episode, Dr Sarah Hanieh speaks with Margaret Dhorrpuy Munyarryun, who calls the homeland community of Dhambala home. She shares the realities of life in the homelands, the resilience it takes to stay, and why teaching young children about identity and connection is more important than ever.

When Home Heals: Dialysis and the Power of Staying on Country

What happens when a remote island community must build its own dialysis unit to keep families together? In Galiwin’ku, a Yolŋu community on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory, rates of chronic kidney disease are rising, forcing many to leave their homelands for life-saving dialysis treatment—often hundreds of kilometres away. In this episode, Dr Sarah Hanieh speaks with Charlie Yebarrarr Dhamarrandji, a community member undergoing dialysis, and Kat Baxter, a dedicated dialysis nurse from Purple House—an Indigenous-led healthcare service providing dialysis in remote communities. Together, they discuss the profound significance of the new local dialysis unit: what it means for culture, identity, and community.

Walking forward with tradition: A Yolŋu young leader bridging two worlds

How do you navigate a future shaped by both tradition and change? For young Yolŋu leaders, the path forward isn’t always clear. Tradition is strong, but modern influences - like social media - are changing the way young people connect with culture, community, and Elders. With these shifts, tough questions arise: What traditions do you hold onto? What do you adapt? And how do you make space for both worlds? In this episode, Zelda Dhamarrandji, a young Yolŋu leader shares her experience of growing up in Galiwin’ku, where cultural knowledge and modern influences intersect. She reflects on the responsibility of carrying forward cultural knowledge, the pressures of the modern world, and what it means to move forward while staying connected to the past.