The Sharks will run out onto Remondis Stadium on Sunday wearing a specially-designed Kari Aboriginal Services, Close the Gap round jersey, however the match against the Raiders is about more than just the Cronulla playing strip.
Both the Sharks and Kari are passionate about spreading the word on the Close the Gap, the largest ever campaign to improve the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Based on Kari’s logo, the tree. This artwork highlights the ‘family’ tree and the loving heart at the centre of every healthy family.
Shockingly, the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is more than a decade less than for other Australians - and Indigenous babies have more than double the chance of dying before the age of one than other Australian babies.
As for the jersey the Sharks will wear on Sunday, it is the work of Aboriginal Artist DJ Mate, a design inspired by Kari’s logo colours and is about people coming together in groups and numbers, to support each other.
Sharks TV spoke to proud Indigenous player Jonathan Wright about the jersey he will wear on Sunday and what Close the Gap means to him, along with Kari CEO Paul Ralph who spoke about the partnership between his organisation and the Sharks and the important role Kari plays in the indigenous community.
The interviews with Wright and Ralph are now playing on Sharks TV.
