Co-founder of the Aussie Hearts International Women's Baseball Program, Narelle Gosstray has been helping girls and women chase their baseball dreams around the world for more than 10 years. The Aussie Hearts latest program, Diamonds in the Rough, is about changing perceptions about what is possible, and empowering Indonesian girls and women through baseball.

A Dynamic baseballing duo have hit a home run for sports diplomacy with a new project featuring sport, anti-domestic violence and mentoring for Indonesian women and girls.

It was the final week of May and sixteen members of the Australian Emerald’s baseball team were en route to Jakarta to give back to the sport they love, internationally. We weren’t just there for training and coaching, this time it was different. We had a vision to promote gender empowerment, leadership, increase people-to-people links and reduce family violence. We didn’t really know what to expect but when we arrived, it became pretty clear that it was more than just a baseball program. 

When you polish a diamond, it shines.

Diamonds in the Rough debuted in May as an historic multi-partner sports diplomacy program in Indonesia. Led by 15 members of the Emeralds, the Australian women’s national baseball team, the program brought together baseball players, coaches, and community members to teach and learn crucial life skills both on and off the diamond. Over the course of the seven day initiative, more than 50 Indonesian girls, called Diamonds, participated in the programs and sessions coordinated by the Emeralds.

In a national first, Australia’s leading baseball players and officials are heading to Jakarta to establish a multifaceted sports diplomacy project featuring baseball, anti-domestic violence and mentoring programs for Indonesian women and girls.

The new sports diplomacy program is called Diamonds in the Rough and is funded by the Australian Government through the Asian Sports Partnerships small grants fund.