First Minister Michelle O’Neill interviewed Domingas Gusmão, a mother of three from East Timor who moved to Dungannon 14 years ago, at her constituency office in Cookstown, Co Tyrone. The session contributes to Heritage Journeys: Voices of Migrant Women in Mid Ulster, an initiative by First Steps Women’s Centre in Dungannon funded by a £231,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund award.

The project records stories of 100 migrant women who settled in Mid Ulster from 2000 to 2024. These accounts, along with cultural materials, will be archived at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast.

Gusmão joined her husband in Dungannon, where he worked at Moy Park. All three of her children were born in Northern Ireland. She discussed challenges of adapting to a new country, concerns over acceptance in the community, experiences with potential hate and racism, missing her family in East Timor, and support received at First Steps Women’s Centre to improve her English.

Gusmão described her neighbourhood positively and noted the joy when her son with autism first called her mummy at age five. She practises traditional East Timorese music, cooking, and crafts while running a small business selling hand-crocheted items.

O’Neill stated her commitment to an inclusive society in Mid Ulster that welcomes diversity. Gusmão presented O’Neill with a hand-crocheted table centrepiece and one for Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly. O’Neill encouraged other migrant women in Mid Ulster to share their stories through the centre.