Our Volunteers 我哋嘅義工: Heidi Wong
Hello everyone! I’m Heidi. My husband and I moved to Ireland in 2022. I work here as a childcare practitioner, and my husband is a registered social worker; we’re both continuing in our professional fields. We have also been volunteers with CII for three years. Over the past few years, I’ve been part of both the Promotion Team and the Storytelling Team, taking part in promotional and reporting work. My husband and I regularly prepare the “Weekly Cantonese” posts and recordings to teach pronunciation. If you’re familiar with that pair of male and female voices..yes, that’s the two of us, haha! In addition, I’m one of the volunteers who regularly tells Cantonese stories to children.
大家好！我係Heidi，我同先生2022年開始黎愛爾蘭生活，我喺呢度做幼稚園老師，先生就做註冊社工，各自做返本行，而我哋都一齊做咗CII嘅義工三年。呢幾年我都係宣傳組同故事組嘅成員，會參與一啲宣傳或者報告活動嘅工作，亦定期同先生寫「每週廣東話」嘅post同埋錄音教大家讀音，大家聽開嗰兩把男女聲就係我哋兩公婆啦，哈哈！另外我都係其中一位定期同小朋友講粵語故事嘅義工。
Working in Ireland is far less stressful compared to Hong Kong, and living here has taught me how to enjoy life more. I’m truly glad that in the past few years I’ve had the spare time to participate in volunteer work with this Cantonese organisation, meeting like-minded Cantonese speakers and contributing to the promotion of Cantonese culture. Even though I’ve just had a baby and am learning for the first time how to care for a newborn, with all the challenges that come with it, I still hope to stay involved in CII’s volunteer activities. This organisation genuinely helps Cantonese speakers integrate into the community. As long as I have the ability and time, I want to continue giving back and helping promote our precious Cantonese culture.
愛爾蘭嘅工作壓力比香港少好多，喺呢度可以更學識享受生活，好開心過去幾年都可以有空餘時間參與呢個粵語組織嘅義工活動，認識到同聲同氣嘅粵語使用者，又可以為推廣粵語文化出一分力。即使啱啱生咗小朋友，第一次學習照顧初生嬰兒，生活面對更大嘅挑戰，我都想盡量參與CII嘅義工活動，因為呢個組織真係幫到粵語人士融入社群，有能力同時間我都想繼續付出，幫助推廣珍貴嘅粵文化!
As for why I wanted to join the Promotion and Storytelling Teams, it’s mainly because I previously worked in the media industry and later moved into early childhood education. I hope these experiences can allow me to contribute meaningfully to both teams. I also have a strong interest in creative writing and enjoy working with children, which is why I’ve continued serving until now.
至於點解會想參加宣傳組同故事組嘅義工活動？主要係因為我以前做過傳媒業，之後又投身幼兒教育業，希望呢啲經驗可以幫到我喺呢兩個小組度出啲綿力，加上自己對創意寫作有興趣，而且享受同小朋友相處，所以就服務到依家啦！
To be honest, after having my baby, I did hesitate about whether I should step back and focus solely on my baby. But after a few years in Ireland, I’ve realised that I really need the support of a Cantonese-speaking community. I believe many Cantonese speakers in Ireland are stay-at-home parents or retirees, and they may sometimes feel homesick or struggle to fully adjust to the culture and lifestyle here. That’s why CII’s lectures, workshops, and cultural events are so valuable, they help expand both Cantonese-speaking and local social circles, provide guided opportunities to engage in local activities, connect with society, and build a sense of belonging. So in the end, I chose to continue volunteering. I believe that even a small contribution can make a difference, and there will always be something to gain in return.
坦白講，生咗小朋友之後我都有猶豫過係咪應該退出，專心照顧小朋友，不過過咗黎愛爾蘭呢幾年，有時候覺得自己都幾需要粵語社群嘅支持。我相信愛爾蘭有唔少粵語使用者係家庭主婦/家庭主夫，或者已經退休，我諗大家有時都會有類似嘅思鄉感覺，或者覺得未係好適應呢度嘅文化同生活，所以CII唔同類型嘅講座、工作坊或者文化活動真係幫到好多，既可以擴闊粵語/本地社交圈，又可以喺組織帶領下參與本地活動，與社會連接，建立歸屬感。所以我最後都選擇繼續參與義工服務，我相信就算只係小小嘅力量都可以幫到人，自己都一定會有收穫！
I’ll soon be resuming my role as a volunteer in the Cantonese storytelling activities, and I hope to take part in even more in the future. Through these activities, I’ve come to realise that many children across Europe are interested in learning Cantonese. Now that I’m a mother myself, I’m even more eager to see these online storytelling sessions continue, so that children have one more channel to learn Cantonese and traditional Chinese characters, and so that parents won’t have to struggle to find suitable Cantonese story resources. I truly believe that with our collective effort, Cantonese can continue to flourish in Ireland and be passed on to the next generation!
嚟緊我會開始返做粵語故事活動嘅義工，亦都希望之後可以參與更多。喺參加故事活動時，我先知道原來歐洲國家有好多小朋友對學習粵語有興趣，而依家成為媽媽之後我就更加希望網上故事活動可以持續舉辦，令小朋友有多一個渠道學習粵語同繁體字，家長們都唔使因為冇粵語故事資源而要左搵右搵。相信喺大家努力下，粵語可以繼續推廣到愛爾蘭同傳承到下一代！