Heritage Journeys

20/05/2026

We’re so pleased with the progress of our project as we continue to share the stories of women who have moved to Mid Ulster from across the world and made it their home❤️

Our video interviews are nearly complete and our photography sessions are going brilliantly, we’ve heard so many inspiring, personal and powerful stories already.

We’re now looking for more women to take part in our written stories section including a professional portrait. If you’ve made Mid Ulster your home and would like to share your journey, we would love to hear from you.

Every story matters and together we’re creating a meaningful celebration of the diverse women who help shape our community✨

For more information on the project check out our website
https://heritagejourneysni.com

Please get in touch to take part
Contact the page or email [email protected] or [email protected] 📩

05/05/2026

We’ve been keeping busy behind the scenes with lots of interviews lately 🎙️✨

Here are a few sneak peeks of what we’ve been working on and trust us, there’s plenty more to come 👀

Stay tuned and follow along for more!

30/03/2026

🎙 First Minister Michelle O'Neill MLA interviews Domingas Gusmão 🎙

We were honoured to welcome First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA to take part in a very special interview for our Heritage Journeys Project!

In a unique role reversal the First Minister stepped behind the mic to interview Domingas, a mother of three originally from East Timor who shared her powerful and deeply personal story of building a life in Mid Ulster. From arriving in Dungannon 14 years ago, to navigating the challenges of settling into a new country, learning English and raising her children, Domingas spoke with honesty about both the difficulties and the joy she has experienced along the way.

The conversation also touched on themes of belonging, motherhood, resilience and the importance of community support, with Domingas reflecting on how First Steps Women’s Centre helped her grow in confidence and feel part of her new home.

Through the Heritage Journeys Project, we are proud to capture and preserve stories like Domingas’ ensuring the voices and experiences of women are recognised, celebrated and shared for generations to come 💛

A sincere thank you to First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA for her support and encouragement and to Domingas for sharing her journey so openly and courageously 💜

16/03/2026

💚 Engrayani Tesalonica 💚

Engrayani is from Indonesia. She lives with her husband and child in Dungannon and has made Mid Ulster her home but it has taken time.

She was a singer and event organizer in her country and then got married and had her little boy. As a young woman she travelled widely and worked in Hong Kong and Macau. It was hard work as a house worker but she generally enjoyed the experience and opportunity to experience other cultures. It was here she chose to become a Catholic and her faith in God is central in her life.

Her Indonesian culture is something she is very keen on continuing. She loves to sing and play traditional songs and music and her great love is karaoke! She even has a karaoke machine in her home. She is very proud of her identity as an Indonesian woman and loves to wear her national costume and traditional clothes especially on special occasions.

Community and friendship are very important to her both through her church and FSWC. She loves to cook traditional foods and speak her language and encourages her child to continue these traditions too. As in her home country, hospitality is something she practices with great joy and ease.

She speaks of how difficult it was to leave her family and friends in Indonesia but the importance of being brave enough to follow your dreams and believe for a better way of life for her family.

She works night shifts and comes to school as well as juggling family life. She is so very gracious and faces challenges with enormous courage, believing all things are possible.

To watch her story interview click the link below ✨
https://heritagejourneysni.com/profiles/engrayani/

This beautiful portrait was taken by our photographer Catriona Corrigan Divine Photography 📸

11/03/2026

🧡 Ewelina Dus 🧡

Ewelina is from Poland. She has been here 20 years with her children who are in school and were born in NI.
This is home for her, she loves life here although as her children have got older she reminisces about Poland, her family and upbringing with a great passion even though her early years were far from easy. She explains how when the children are older and more integrated in the local culture in Mid-Ulster it is harder to hold on to cultural heritage, she is keen to do her best and believes through the Heritage Journeys Project this is an opportunity to provide a cultural legacy for her family.

Polish traditions around holiday times for instance Christmas and Easter are very dear to her. When her children were younger she celebrated important events and incorporated many Polish traditions into family life. Christmas Eve traditions are recalled by her, the first star, the 12 dishes and she has passed these traditions down to her children. Although traditions have been somewhat lost but her cultural identity is still important to her.

Nowadays she speaks more English than Polish but her children did learn Polish and before Covid they often travelled to Poland for summer holidays.

She has a great determination and an incredible work ethic despite the many cultural and language challenges she has faced but her resilience has been demonstrated time after time and she is a great encourager to keep going. She has discovered a joy for cooking and baking and has developed a business around her passion. Her dream is to one day have a sweet and treat coffee shop. Her cakes are hugely irresistible!

“I would say to a young woman thinking about coming here to have an open heart. In 20 years everything has changed since I came first. I think it’s harder now and more scary but come with an open heart and an open mind and be prepared because anything can happen. It will not be easy. But it is ok not to be easy, that is how we grow and she will always be welcomed here”

“Home is where my heart is”

To watch her story interview click the link below✨
https://heritagejourneysni.com/profiles/ewelina-dus/

This beautiful portrait was taken by our photographer Catriona Corrigan Divine Photography📸

11/03/2026

Our new website is live!

Click the link below to view the amazing stories of the incredible women 💓

The homepage for Heritage Journeys. All about honouring the rich, complex and often untold stories of women whose lives are shaped by migration

09/03/2026

💛 Domingas Gusmão 💛

Domingas is from East Timor and she came to Dungannon 14 years ago to join her husband who was working here in Moy Park.
Her 3 children were born here. When she came here first it was difficult to adjust to a new culture and language. She had little English and started to come to First Steps Women’s Centre for classes. She tried to talk to everyone and watched movies to improve her English skills and is now fluent.

Although her family are still in East Timor, she sees Dungannon as home, a place where she and her family belong. She continues her music, cooking and traditional crafts here in NI. She loves to sing and play guitar. As well as being a very busy full-time Mum, she has set up her own business selling crocheted items, inspired by traditional craft making in her home country. She also is a highly valued volunteer at FSWC.

She does miss her home country and family who still live there but has regular WhatsApp calls and contact which makes it much easier to stay in touch.

In the wake of rioting that has taken hold on towns in NI and anti-migrant feeling particularly over the past few years Domingas has found it unnerving and worries for her family especially as her children were born here. Her hope is that people can be kind to each other and adds you cannot control what people do but you can control how you react.

She is delighted to have had the opportunity to speak with First Minister Michelle O’Neill, MLA.

To watch her story interview click the link below✨

https://heritagejourneysni.com/profiles/domingas-gusmao/

This beautiful portrait was taken by our photographer Catriona Corrigan Divine Photography 📸

09/03/2026

💜 International Women's Day 2026 💜

Last Thursday we were so pleased to officially launch our project along with the website and pilot photography exhibition at our First Steps Women's Centre, Dungannon International Women's Day Event!

Through our project we want the women who have made Mid Ulster their home to be able to raise their voices and offer them the opportunity to tell their story in their own words.

We also hope it will help challenge negativity and prejudice and create a richer society where every woman feels seen, valued and celebrated for who she truly is.

Through these stories we are capturing the rich intangible cultures they carry with them like their food, religion, social customs and the everyday rituals that shape who they are. We also want to reflect on how these traditions are living and evolving or if they have diminished or lost over time.

Migration is not just just a change of address it is courage, sacrifice, resilience and hope ❤️

This beautiful video was captured and compiled by our videographer Cathal Hegerty 🎬

07/01/2026

We are back feeling refreshed after the break. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years 🎄✨

We are very excited for the year ahead and can't wait to share this journey with you all!

Follow along to hear the women's powerful stories told in their own words 🌍✨

They deserve to be heard, seen and celebrated 💜

27/11/2025

🤩 First Video Interview Complete 🤩

After 6 months preparation we are so excited to announce the first video interview draft is complete!!

We are thrilled to be working alongside so many powerful women and having the privilege to hear and feel their stories 🩵

Follow our page as there will be exciting updates to come ✨