A young mum who suffered post-natal depression has won an award after starting a Welsh language support group to help others going through the mill.
Ffion Wyn Evans, a mental health nurse from Caernarfon, decided to use her experience after the birth of son Gruff, now 20 months old, in setting up her new business, Blocs.
It has seen her recognised at the inaugural Gwobrau Mwyaf Cymraeg y Byd (Most Welsh in the World Awards), organised by the Anglesey-based consultancy firm, Lafan, as part of the Bwrlwm ARFOR project to promote the economic benefit of Welsh in business in the four counties that are strongholds of the language, Ynys Môn, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.
The aim of the awards is to celebrate businesses in the four counties that are benefiting financially from using the Welsh language and boosting their bottom line.
Ffion, who is about to begin a new job helping staff in Gwynedd schools understand children’s mental health needs, was presented with her prize at a special awards ceremony at Tan y Graig, near Aberystwyth.
She launched Blocs as therapy, channelling her negative thoughts into arts and crafts for young children and has expanded that into a book, Enfys o Emosiynau (Rainbow of Emotions), a mental health resource for children aged three to 10.
The book has now been taken up by 30 schools across Wales and a delighted Ffion said: “It was hard at first opening up about my PND but I was helped by Llwyddo’n Lleol 2050 which offers help to young people who want to live and work in the Welsh-speaking heartlands of Wales.
“It is difficult to ask for help with something like PND especially when you are a mental health nurse yourself but I had a great reaction and I started a small community online with people I had never met who were asking me about my journey with PND.
“I really wanted to give something back and Llwyddo’n Lleol helped me to create a mental health resource in Welsh for children.
“It’s very difficult for young children to make connections between the physical aspects of anxiety and your mental health is what I’ve put into the book and hopefully it is a starting point for them to talk about their emotions.
“There wasn’t anything like that out there and children growing up with mental health issues were having to deal with it through their second language of English so I am delighted this has been taken up by so many schools.”
Ffion’s was one of seven awards handed out at the event and there was more success for Caernarfon with popular Caffi Maes in the town’s Castle Square scooping an award for its staff and the overall award for the Most Welsh Business.
Owners Tudor and Ffion Hughes have been there for 19 years.
According to the couple, the awards ceremony had been a great opportunity to network with other business people in the ARFOR area who benefit from using Welsh and explore the possibilities of collaborating in future.
Tudor said: “It’s not a chore to make sure everything is in Welsh – it’s just natural for us – and with signage you have to have everything in twice.
“The staff are all first language Welsh and many of our regulars and the locals are as well but we also get Welsh learners who want to practice and we try and encourage them and we applaud them for trying their best.”
Geraint Hughes, Lead Consultant, said they had been inspired to launch the awards to recognise businesses that go the extra mile to promote and make use of the Welsh language.
He said: “We have had Welsh learners here who five years ago could not speak a word of Welsh and we’ve had people from all sorts of backgrounds and businesses.
“Everyone has a different story but what brings them together is not only their passion for Cymraeg but going beyond the emotion is that it’s a useful and often essential tool to have in their business.
“With our commercial hats on we see that we get more customers and more attention because there’s an emphasis on Cymraeg.
“We had hundreds of nominations on line – our only role was to draw up a shortlist and then leave it to the public to decide.
“The awards only represented a tiny part of the campaign and what was really significant was the huge commitment of so many businesses in the way they embrace the language.
“Hopefully as an event it will evolve over time but what is really important is for people to recognise the value of Cymraeg in business.”
Bwrlwm ARFOR manager Zoe Pritchard said: “The awards ceremony was a joyous occasion to celebrate everything Welsh and that the fact that it is a living and vibrant language.
“We want to create a buzz around the use of Welsh in a business or commercial environment and how it can help businesses thrive and provide careers for our young people so they don’t feel they have to move away.
“Its aim is to celebrate the Welsh language and show that it is not a museum piece but can have real benefits and relevance to businesses here across the four counties.”
