Cultural & community connections on the menu

WORDS Heather Kennett

CULTURAL & COMMUNITY

CONNECTIONS ON THE MENU

Mai Ralph says volunteering at a City of Salisbury-supported Vietnamese seniors’ program is the perfect recipe to establishing a stronger connection to her heritage.

Having been adopted by Australian parents, Mai Ralph has established a connection to her Vietnamese heritage through volunteering.

Every fortnight the 52-year-old assists a group of volunteers to prepare a Vietnamese meal for participants of the Vietnamese Senior Social Support Program at the Pine Lakes Centre.

Mai says assisting at the Parafield Gardens centre for the past two years has helped her to re-connect with her birth country and language.

“I was born in Vietnam but lost my parents during the war,” she says.

“My Dad was American, and my Mum was Vietnamese. “I was left in a blanket at the door of an orphanage and stayed there until I was five, when my Australian parents adopted me.”

Mai says she lost her ability to understand or speak Vietnamese upon starting school in Adelaide, compounded by having little involvement with the local Vietnamese community.

“I don’t have many memories of my early years, however my mum tells me that when I arrived the first thing I did was to pick up chop sticks,” she recalls. Mai says she enjoys working with the team of four other kitchen volunteers to prepare a meal offered as part of the program.

She also relishes the opportunity to form deeper links with her cultural community.

“We all cook Vietnamese food for the seniors who come in,” she says.

“We make soups, spring rolls, meat dishes, rice and rice noodles.

“It is the perfect opportunity to join in and try to pick up Vietnamese language and learn to cook Vietnamese food.”

The former production worker also volunteers two days each week at Jack’s Café, helping to prepare nutritious, affordable and tasty meals for members and visitors to the Jack Young Centre.

Mai says volunteering at both City of Salisbury community centres has been a positive experience for her and she encouraged others to consider volunteering.

“There are lots of staff to help you and you don’t need a lot of experience to help out there,” she says.

“It’s fun, we have a laugh and joke around and everybody is very caring and understanding of other’s needs.