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| PathFinders provides shelter for homeless migrant mothers and their children |
A first-ever call for funding assistance by PathFinders
Limited, a Hong Kong non-government organization that is helping needy migrant
mothers and their children, has received overwhelming support.
With still a few weeks to go before the fundraising is set to end, the NGO said it has already exceeded its target after an outpouring of support
from donors.
“In total, we have raised $452,000, which will cover
all shelter-related expenses until the end of 2020 and into 2021, and will
ensure the health and safety of homeless babies and mothers,” said PathFinders,
which is headed by chief executive Catherine Gurtin.
Gurtin took the unprecedented step on Jun 1 of emailing PathFinders
supporters and friends to appeal for help to keep its shelter running until the
end of the year.
The group had a target of $432,000 to cover all
shelter-related expenses until Dec 31. Little did it expect that support for
its crowd-funding activity would exceed expectations.
“A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported
us! We are deeply touched by your generosity to help those less privileged
during this difficult time,” PathFinders said in an emailed update.
“Thank you too for all the wonderful messages of
encouragement you shared with your donations, these have been a much-needed
source of inspiration and hope for our team.”
Without funding support, PathFinders would have been left with
no option than to shut its shelter, which it opened in 2012 to provide an abode
for homeless and pregnant migrant workers.
Many of those who seek help from PathFinders are migrant
women who are illegally fired by their employers after they get pregnant, leaving
them homeless and with nowhere to go for help.
A few are forced to overstay due to the stigma of going home
as a single mother, or because they got pregnant by a man other than their
husband.
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| The NGO also holds talks with FDWs on such topics as love scams, maternity rights and protection |
Such was the case of Gema, an Indonesian helper, who was
found by an acquaintance while she slept in a park in Yuen Long at the height
of winter with her seven-day-old son, Dian.
Gema was taken to PathFinders, which immediately took Dian
to the hospital where he was confined for several days for emergency treatment
because of an infection that developed in his legs.
“This happened because Gema was unlawfully terminated from
her job as a foreign domestic helper,” the NGO said.
After the surgery, both mother and child moved into PathFinder’s
shelter, where they were helped in getting Dian a birth certificate while Gema
received counseling on her new role as a mother, and help prepare her for their
return to Indonesia.
Kuma Chow, who heads the fundraising committee, said PathFinders
has no government funding and relies only on charitable foundations and the
private sector.
She said that if the targeted amount was not reached, they
would have been forced to close, and the homeless women and babies they are
caring for would have been referred to other shelters, many of which are
already full.
“With nowhere to go and in a desperate state, they risk
being taken advantage of, getting into involuntary relationships and taking up
illegal work like drug trafficking or dishwashing,” she said.
“Such dangerous environments and social groups are unsafe
for children and, if they were to get arrested or go to jail, the children
would suffer even more.”
PathFinders is now looking for a new corporate sponsor
because its previous supporter had reached its maximum duration of five years
to sponsor a charity in line with its corporate social responsibility
undertaking, Chow said.
The NGO said sponsors can still directly help babies and
mothers who are in need through its 2020 “Bridge the Gap” campaign, which is raising funds for
other critical services and its community center.
