By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Migrant workers can join Mission's online anniversary gala this Sunday, for only $30 |
Mission for Migrant Workers,
a Church-based charity that is the succor and refuge of distressed foreign
domestic workers in
Hong Kong, is celebrating
its 40
th anniversary this year with an appeal for financial help.
The MFMW says it needs at least $200,000 a month to continue
operating and maintain the level of assistance that it is extending to a
growing number of clients.
The economic stagnation that stems from the prolonged coronavirus
crisis that began early last year is having an impact on possibly every Hong Kong home, thus directly affecting the migrant
helpers who are employed by those families.
Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission, said funding
from their long-term corporate supporter and a smaller corporate sponsor for
events that has come aboard lately could not meet all its financial
requirements. Thus, the Mission
has decided to tap local donors for additional funding.
Tellez said the number of workers who have sought help since
Covid-19 began has increased hugely. Last year alone, she said, around 2,000 stranded or displaced migrant workers sought help from Mission.
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| Tellez says the Mission helped some 2,000 migrant workers amid the pandemic |
They included workers who were summarily fired by employers;
those abandoned by bosses who had gone home to China and other places without formally
dismissing them, and those who failed to find new employers and could not get a
flight home.
“An additional 2,600 migrants sent inquiries through our
center phones, emergency hotline number, and messages through email, website
and social media accounts even after office hours,” MFMW said in an anniversary
letter posted to supporters.
Tellez said on Apr 7 on “The SUN Interviews” online show
that in the latter part of the Mission’s 40 years of service, an average of
1,000 migrant workers had sought their help. She reckoned that the number tabs
on cases the NGO is currently handling are now in the 21,000 range.
Tellez said distressed workers approach the Mission for a range of problems, from shelter
to visa extension cost, to labor claims against their employers and many other
issues, and the charity group has always found ways to help them.
“Those who our two shelters can’t accommodate we refer to
other shelters, or we send them to boarding houses that we rent for them,” said
the Mission head.
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| Tellez with Erwiana, who was helped by the Mission to file cases vs her abusive employer |
“Sometimes we ask them if they need money for their expenses
and help them. We don’t say no to anyone,” said Tellez, who helped set up the Mission in 1981. Back
then, there were only about 10,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, but they were already facing many challenges.
There was another shelter at the time run by the Oblates of
Mary Immaculate, but it closed down after its house mother went to Canada,
Tellez said.
As a young social worker in the Philippines,
Tellez was sent by religious groups to Hong Kong
in 1980 to look into the possibility of extending help to the growing number of
Filipino migrant workers there.
Three months after she submitted her report, she was asked
to move to Hong Kong to work on the project
she suggested, which included setting up a shelter for distressed migrants. She
agreed, but on the condition that she would move here with her husband and three
young kids.
The displaced or stranded workers are apart from newly
arrived workers in mandatory 21-day hotel quarantine who appeal for food,
water, clothing and other basic needs they can’t obtain in isolation or couldn’t
afford to buy before flying to Hong Kong.
Tellez said its volunteers respond to SOS calls from those
in hotel quarantine, delivering packs of food and other stuff to them.
Sometimes, the Mission
taps other community groups to help out in this activity.
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| Mission staff assist workers left stranded when their flight to Manila was cancelled |
Recently, the NGO approached the Consulate to ask for help
in meeting the needs of distressed OFWs, especially those who lack shelter.
Tellez said Consul General Raly Tejada agreed to the idea
and a working committee that included the Consulate, the Mission, Philippine Overseas Labor Office,
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and some Filcom leaders was formed to
address this issue.
Covid-19 has drastically increased the workload of the
workers, such as ensuring higher household cleaning and hygiene requirements,
as well as cooking for the family when dine-in was banned, and helping their
wards in online learning at home.
As a result, more than 90% suffered from long working hours,
with 7 out of 10 working 11 hours a day and 3 out of 10 working over 16 hours.
Due to social restrictions, 1 out of 2 workers seeking help say they either
don’t get regular rest days or work on that day, the MFMW said.
As the MFMW celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the
organization said it would continue to help the workers fight for their basic
rights, such as providing them decent accommodation, regular rest days, better
treatment and to combat contract violations.
The NGO complements the struggle by educating and training volunteers
via online seminars, who in turn extend the knowledge that they received to
fellow workers, especially those who are in need.
Those who wish to donate directly may check this website:
https://www.migrants.net/40-gala?fbclid=IwAR3Y-nmtLrPW-Vi_dVTKuXQ9ArHW-EhrKtFbR4urAdBGkH0jJHm7JGvkQEQ
Or you may use the Mission's QR Code here:
You may also transfer money to their TNG account:
