Bridging The Gap – A Collision in Generation Gaps

By Sam Rose

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Willowdale Manor as part of Professor Afua Baah's Cross Platform Reporting class and spoke with one of their residents on their life living as an immigrant in Canada and adapting into Canadian culture.

Winnie Fong an immigrant from Hong Kong China, moved to Canada in 1997 after the Handover of Hong Kong - the period where the United Kingdom handed over power of Hong Kong to China. Winnie says she felt unsafe there due to the communism and many people from Hong Kong were leaving and immigrating to different countries.

When Winnie arrived in Canada she lived in a townhouse in the Scarborough area with her mom and sister who also live in Canada. As a hospital administrator in Hong Kong, shortly after arriving in Canada, Winnie enrolled in the Office Administration - Legal program at Seneca College to broaden her knowledge in administration. 

Winnie moved into the Willowdale Manor, six years ago. She says it was quite the transition for her when she moved from a townhouse in Scarborough into a high-rise building in North York with lots of people from different backgrounds. 

The residence located in the Willowdale Avenue and Cummer Avenue area in North York is apart of Toronto senior housing a smaller branch of Toronto Community housing which provides independent living for seniors. The manor has partnered with Neighborlink a charity that leads programming with the residents including bringing in yoga instructors or elementary schools to play board games.

Winnie has a love for working out. She participates in Tai Chi daily and likes to participate in television workouts. She also likes to use the exercise bike that the residence offers, however, she doesn't like waiting while other people are using the bike. 

Winnie has two brothers and one sister that also live in Canada, whom she visits quite often for family dinners. Before her mom immigrated into Canada she stayed with Winnie's oldest brother who decided to stay in Hong Kong after 1997, however life got harder for Winnie's mom as she got older. She lived in a funeral home before she passed.