10 Minutes With...Priyanka Agarwal

The AWA President explains how she’s been juggling the day-to-day running of the popular women’s organisation amidst all the disruptions of the past year or so.

Where are you from originally? What do you miss about it?

I was born and raised in India and am now a naturalised Singaporean. Both India and Singapore are home to me in their own different but unique ways. I miss Indian food, festivals and being with my family. As for Singapore, I miss its efficiency, comfort and cleanliness, and the friends who have become family over time.

Tell us about your expat “trail”. When did you first come here, and where else have you lived?

I moved out of India right after my marriage. In the last 23 years, I have lived in Japan, Singapore, Venezuela, Chile and now Hong Kong. I’ve been in Hong Kong for the past three years, though I’d been coming here frequently for two years before that as my husband relocated here earlier and we did a split family for that time.

Is Hong Kong “home”?

Yes, for now Hong Kong is definitely home. I’ve learned to make each place we move to our “home”. It helps in maximising our living experience, creating real memories and learning about various cultures.

What do you do here? Tell us about your role with the AWA.

I became an AWA member within a month of moving here and enjoyed the various local tours and clubs that it offered. I co-chaired the “AWA Wise” event in March 2019, aiming to bring women back to work. It turned out to be a big success with over 700 registrations. That kept me quite busy, along with my younger daughter’s preparations for her college applications.