Making Cantonese connection possible, even on the hard days.
"I want my daughter to feel connected to Cantonese."
Hi! I am Becca. I never planned to become a creator of Cantonese resources. My background in social work shaped how I see all of this. I'd worked with families navigating really hard things: loss, change, fear, uncertainty. Moments where words either help us feel less alone, or fail us completely.
When I became a parent, I wanted my daughter to have Cantonese for connection, and for the moments that matter.
I wanted to share my passion for Cantonese with more families who were trying to hold onto Cantonese in the same way I was. So I began teaching. Over time, I taught more than 199 students, from ages 4 to 17.
I am not a certified teacher, but 87 families left five-start reviews. Many told me their children felt different after our time together: more confident, more willing to try, more connected to Cantonese.
The gap wasn't in the children. It was in what we gave them to hold onto.
I started creating more Cantonese resources. First was The Story Of Us. I wanted a tool to help me and my daughter to open up to each other in Cantonese. Two years later, I wrote You Are Always In My Heart because I needed a way to talk to my daughter about loss in Cantonese.
Then I created the R.I.C.E. Adventure Comics and organized the first-ever Cantonese Children's Fair in Markham, which I named the R.I.C.E. Fair. R.I.C.E. stands for Resilience, Inspiration, Culture, and Experience.
What began as idea grew into something much larger. Fourteen young entrepreneurs showcased their creations in Cantonese, and we welcomed over 300 visitors. This incredible event showed just how powerful the Cantonese language can be in bringing our community together, and fostering connections.
The moment a child feels that Cantonese is meaningful to them is the moment everything changes!
Today, Cantonse4Parents reaches families in Canada, United States, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and beyond.
The books sit in homes, social services offices, classrooms, libraries and on Children's bookshelves. And every single one of them exists for the same reason: Because we believe making Cantonese connection is possible, even on the hard days.
With love, Becca
