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Every Sunday, they give back: Domestic workers who spend their days off helping others
Ms Mary Roja (left) is one of many domestic workers who have spent over a decade volunteering in Singapore. ST PHOTO: TEO KAI XIANG
Every Sunday, they give back: Domestic workers who spend their days off helping others
SINGAPORE – Every other Sunday, Ms Istriyanti can be found behind a help desk at shopping centre City Plaza from 11am to 6pm, providing advice and support to distressed domestic workers from Indonesia.
The 45-year-old domestic worker, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, has spent the past 15 years living and working in Singapore. She has been volunteering with local migrant worker non-profit Home for 13 of those years.
To her, volunteering is about giving back to a community that supported her through her lowest point in life.
After she moved to Singapore in 2010 to become a domestic worker, physical abuse from her first employer meant spending 14 months at Home's crisis shelter for women, unable to work while her case was pending.
'My story's a bit sad because, to work here, I left my eight-month-old baby behind. Back then , I was not allowed to use a phone and I had no days off .
'I didn't know my baby had passed away because I couldn't contact my family for 18 months,' she says. She tears up as she recounts to The Straits Times how her only daughter died while in the care of her relatives.
During her time at the shelter, she met other women struck by similar tragedies. 'That's when I thought, after my case is done, I promise to be a volunteer for Home.'
Ms Istriyanti (left), a domestic worker, spends every other Sunday at Home's help desk for Indonesian domestic workers in City Plaza.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ISTRIYANTI
Her volunteering now extends beyond Sundays.
She was among the first to volunteer, even before Home set up the formal help desk for Indonesian domestic workers in 2011 at City Plaza in Geylang, a frequent hangout for these helpers. As such, her private number is one that other helpers can call whenever they need assistance. 'Whatever they need, we must be available 24 hours,' she says.
Cases that require legal or more support are referred to Home's four full-time case workers.
Ms Istriyanti recalls a helper calling her in 2017 after her employer had struck her in the face with a potato, causing her to bleed. The worker was worried about involving the authorities, but eventually won compensation from her employer.
On alternate Sundays, when Ms Istriyanti is not behind the help desk, she organises volleyball tournaments at Sembawang Recreation Centre, bringing together more than 200 domestic workers to exercise on their day off.
Why volleyball? It is easier to find venues for and includes more players , she explains.
Ms Istriyanti (foreground, right) organises volleyball tournaments for domestic workers on alternate Sundays.
ST PHOTO: TEO KAI XIANG
It is an important source of community. She notes that too many domestic workers accept monetary compensation in lieu of time off, but volleyball can provide a reason to take that day off instead – to form new bonds and, if necessary, seek support from community organisations.
Now a single divorcee without living parents , Ms Istriyanti says she often feels alone – and thinks of others in her predicament while volunteering.
'Here, my friends support me, and I'm happy that I can do this with Home,' she says, adding that her employer of two years supports her endeavours. 'Sometimes, we're not thinking about ourselves as long as others are happy.'
Champions for others
Ms Betty de Loreto (left) and Ms Leizle Menez are Filipino domestic workers who have spent more than a decade volunteering.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Ms Leizle Menez, 46, is another domestic worker using her weekly day off to give back. The Filipina has lived in Singapore for over 22 years and spent the past 17 volunteering with Home.
'I always look forward to Sundays,' she says. ' They keep me going because they mean talking to those in low spirits who need a listening ear.'
She began volunteering in 2008 with Home's help desk at Orchard Road shopping centre Lucky Plaza. It was set up in 2006 to assist domestic workers from the Philippines where they hang out most.
'When they come to you, they can be so sad that they're crying. But once you talk to them, they feel they're not alone,' says Ms Menez, the eldest of seven children who is single and supports her parents back home in Bacolod City. 'There's someone who's the same as me. Because I am a domestic worker, what she feels, I feel as well.'
In 2015, a distressed Filipina came to the help desk, declaring that she intended to jump to her death.
'I said to her, can you come sit down, have some water, and think about what your goal was when you came to Singapore,' she says. 'If your goal is your family, think about this. Even if you go home, I think your family will be happy.'
The worker eventually returned home to Manila and is living there happily now, says Ms Menez.
Beyond such crisis support, she also facilitates workshops for women's health and well-being with Home, which typically draw 20 to 50 attendees each and occur as often as twice a month.
At a recent workshop, middle-aged domestic workers flagged menopause symptoms, such as having trouble with their sleep, asking volunteers in healthcare for advice on what they should do . They were concerned 'because if you are sick, you get sent home', says Ms Menez.
'I have been doing this volunteer work for 17 years. This is my life,' she adds. 'I know some people ask me, 'Why do you still do this, you don't have time for yourself', but for me, this is my happiness. To see all these girls, I think we are champions for them.'
Engaged to her students
On a Sunday at international school United World College's (UWC) campus in Tampines, an unusual classroom scene unfolds.
A domestic worker practises moving an elderly patient into a wheelchair and out of the room, before she stops at a closed door. Uncertain of what to do next, she looks around for assistance from her peers.
'You're alone, nobody else is at home!' a fellow student calls out as she struggles to hold the door open while backing the patient out of the room.
This lively caregiving class is one of many courses from Home Academy, the training arm of Home, and it is taught by a group of volunteer domestic helpers, including Ms Mary Roja.
Ms Roja, a 52-year-old domestic worker from the Philippines, has been living in Singapore for 24 years, and volunteering for over a dozen years.
'Many of my students, after they finish their caregiving exam, they go on to Europe to work,' she says, 'Then after that, it's a matter of sending a simple message to me: Thank you. And my heart is like, 'Wow'. You're part of them and where they are now. I'm happy, whatever you achieve there. My heart is full also.'
Home Academy's caregiving classes are in high demand because many domestic workers lack the skills to meet the increasingly complex caregiving needs in Singapore's fast-greying society – and because these offer a pathway to better pay and working conditions.
The courses, conducted twice a month, cost $360 for 10 three-hour lessons and materials. In 2024, 506 students enrolled.
Being a volunteer teacher is difficult, says Ms Roja, because of language barriers in diverse classrooms and the harsh feedback students sometimes give.
The only material reward is a small honorarium to pay for transport and meals.
In 2015, when Ms Roja told her class that she intended to stop volunteering after three years, a group of Myanmar students pooled together money to buy her a gold ring.
'They hugged me and told me: 'A lot of domestic workers still need you. Please continue because we love you.'' She tears up at the memory.
This ring is still on her left fourth finger today. 'That's why people think I'm married, when I'm single,' she says. 'This is the engagement ring that shows I am engaged to my students. It was very touching, and I thought, this is the answer: I cannot just anyhow leave.'
Ms Mesiati, a 47-year-old healthcare assistant from Indonesia who goes by one name, has a similar moving experience. Her students brought her to tears by sending her $200 while she was on umrah, a minor pilgrimage for Muslims .
The former domestic worker used to spend Sundays attending caregiving classes taught by a nursing home, because her first employer was a bedridden and elderly Singaporean woman.
'As ah ma's condition got worse, I promised her I would take care of her until the end of her life,' she recalls.
After her employer died in 2015, Ms Mesiati used her caregiving qualifications to become a stay-out caregiver for families in need of hospice care with local home care agency Active Global.
She came to Singapore to work in 2010 after her husband died, leaving her the breadwinner for their two children. Her elder daughter, now 25, works in Singapore as a domestic helper.
'Sometimes, I come to volunteer after a 12-hour night shift, ' says Ms Mesiati, adding that she finds it rewarding to share her experience with others.
What sisterhood looks like
Ms Jetky Amores (right) teaches cooking classes, but says musical performances help to make new friends and are a lively atmosphere for learning.
ST PHOTO: TEO KAI XIANG
Home Academy is a ground-up initiative started by domestic workers themselves, says its Singaporean director Sisi Sukiato, 66. 'We didn't start it. They came to us and told us they wanted to do it.'
Domestic workers approached Home in 2007 asking for opportunities to share their skills and talents with their community. One worker might have a certification in baking or caregiving from their home country, while another might have learnt important skills on the job here.
Home Academy works with them by providing the facilities – such as classrooms rented from UWC and shopping centre Peninsula Plaza – and resources to make it possible, says Madam Sukiato. This began with English classes, then computer classes, before word travelled and it began soliciting more donations for a greater breadth of courses.
'This is sisterhood. Our mission is to make them dare to dream,' she says, adding that when the domestic workers eventually leave Singapore, she hopes they will be equipped with the skills necessary for their next stage in life.
Home Academy now offers 12 types of courses, ranging from hairdressing to guitar to healthcare.
Students are also groomed to become trainers of the courses they take up , a useful qualification for later in life.
Filipina Jetky Amores, 52, is one such domestic worker. She has lived in Singapore for 20 years and spent 14 of those volunteering.
'When I arrived in Singapore, I didn't know anyone, and I felt quite alone,' she says, adding that she saw fliers for Home Academy at Lucky Plaza and decided it was time to start going back to school.
Since graduating from a series of cooking classes – which included mastery of international cuisines – she has spent the last 10 years using her Sundays to teach others what she picked up. She also volunteers with Home's dental service, assisting Singaporean dentists and nurses who provide subsidised care to migrant workers.
'I received a lot of help and kindness from others, especially those in support groups. Volunteering is my way of saying thank you,' says the divorced mother of three from Butuan City.
Her classes are popular, including with employers who have exacting demands for meals and sign up their domestic workers.
Ms Amores notes that many employers can be reluctant to allow domestic workers a day off – unless they know the helpers will be at a class – as worries about misbehaviour are commonplace .
Ms Betty de Loreto (right) teaches hairdressing and cosmetology classes on a volunteer basis.
ST PHOTO: TEO KAI XIANG
Ms Betty de Loreto, a 51-year-old domestic worker from the Philippines, spends two Sundays a month teaching hairdressing and cosmetology classes on a volunteer basis. She says many of her students have used the skills gained to start businesses back home.
She has been in Singapore for 23 years, spending 13 of those volunteering.
It would not be possible without an employer that respects her time off and allows her to leave earlier in the morning so she can set up for her 9am classes.
' I can say I'm one of the lucky overseas Filipino workers in Singapore. My employer is supportive and understanding,' she says, adding that she returns home on Sundays after 9.30pm, usually after evening Catholic mass.
However, she notes that before the pandemic, she used to volunteer every Sunday, before Home Academy had to cut back on some classes.
This is the result of funding challenges.
Madam Sukiato notes that post-pandemic, room rental – which makes up the bulk of the cost to Home Academy – has risen threefold, limiting the number of courses it can provide.
Classes now cost between $120 and $375 – instead of up to $180 – for a semester of 10 three-hour classes, which can be difficult for many domestic workers to afford.
Pre-pandemic, Home Academy had over 1,500 students a year. Enrolment has now dropped to about 1,000 .
Importance of rest days
Another hurdle stems from domestic workers' limited time off. Madam Sukiato says Home is pushing for greater awareness among employers about the importance of rest days.
In Singapore, all domestic workers are entitled to one rest day a week, typically Sunday. However, domestic workers can be compensated with more pay to work on this day. At the minimum, a domestic worker must have at least one rest day a month which cannot be compensated away.
Madam Sukiato notes that many employers compensate away the weekly rest days. Even when rest days are given, many domestic workers are expected to do chores before they leave the house and after they return.
'We encourage employers to give 24 hours off, ' says Madam Sukiato. 'When you give them a rest day, it should be 24 hours. If you don't give them a full recharge, they can't focus. They think about how they have to go home to cook dinner or do this or that.'
Without the full day off, many workers are unable to attend Home Academy's classes .
In Madam Sukiato's view, the issue comes down to employers' fears and anxieties . Many think of rest days as opportunities for their helpers to mingle with bad company or lose their security bond. There are also families with elderly members who require 24/7 support.
As the migrant worker community in Singapore celebrates International Domestic Workers' Day on June 16, Madam Sukiato hopes Singaporeans will do more to make the country a more hospitable home for them.
'At Home, we create a venue for them, a community for them, all of these things are invisible,' she says. 'We need more Singaporeans and more employers to work with us, because we are not enough.'
Domestic workers can contact the Home helpline on 9787-3122 (call and WhatsApp) and 1800-797-7977 (toll-free).
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