Singapore Maids Get Schooling Opportunities to Improve their Lives

Many women in Asia leave their home countries to work as domestic helpers or maids in more affluent places like Singapore and have to sacrifice so they can send their modest incomes to their families.

In Singapore, maids are offered an opportunity by a school to learn skills in business management and hone their computer and communication knowledge. These trainings can help the maids improve their lives and have better future for them and loved ones back home.

Micro school education

Aidha is a micro school in Singapore that provides special education to maids by training them in managing and investing their money in worthwhile business ventures. The school also teaches them how to save for the future so that their income is not spent on things that are not very useful. Most maids working in Singapore come from the Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia.

Special education benefits 

One of the domestic helpers currently benefiting from the education offered by Aidha is Lisa Padua from the Philippines. Lisa Padua’s father died when she was still in her teens. The death of the family breadwinner forced her to quit school and work as a domestic helper first in Qatar and later in Singapore. After years of devoting her time in this work, she finds herself still in the same job, but now with a marked difference. Lisa Padua today runs some businesses in the Philippines. The extra income that is derived from her investments helps her send nephews and nieces to college. Since she has given up her ambition to finish a college degree, Lisa Padua thinks she might as well fulfill this goal through her loved ones. She gives credit to Aidha for the successful result of her business ventures. Lisa still works as a maid in Singapore but manages to keep her investments back home.

Nine-month course

The Aidha nine-month course offered to maids costs USD280 and covers the teaching of communication, computer and financial skills. Classes run for three hours for two Sundays a month in order for the maids to adjust their work and school schedules. Sundays are usually days off for women who work as maids, nannies and caregivers. Those who want to undergo more intense training take the nine-month program that will teach them how to put up their own businesses.

Financial independence

Veronica Gamez, executive director of Aidha training school said that the school aims to assist the workers attain a better financial stand. Their earnings as maids are very modest at 300 to 600 Singapore dollars, a big part of which is remitted to their families in their home countries. Most of the time, these workers end up not saving anything for themselves until the time comes when they stop working and go home penniless. Gamez who is a holder of an MBA degree from the University of Chicago believes that the women can have a brighter future if they save some of their money and invest part of their earnings wisely. Gamez said it is unfortunate that many of the maids working in Singapore use their money thoughtlessly by buying things that are of little value.

Remittances

Foreign domestic helpers may not earn much but they contribute a lot to the economies of their respective countries. The regular remittances of these helpers to their families significantly amount to billions of dollars that enter the national coffers of the Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia annually. During this year, the Philippines received an estimated $26 billion in remittances which roughly constitute10% of its national gross domestic product. By putting up investment projects, domestic helpers can contribute more to their homeland and most importantly, help develop the places where they hail from which are commonly the rural areas.