Celine's Day Off: Community, Classes and Care
By Celine Donato
As a domestic worker, my day off is very valuable to me. It is important for us domestic workers to have rest, as we all know how tedious work at home is, especially when you are looking after an elderly patient with dementia and a child, as I’ve been doing here for 14 years. The work is really tiring and after a week I feel burned out. When you are happy it is easier to focus on your work, which is why days off are so important, they help us to relax and to do things that make our life meaningful and happy.
The first thing I love to do during my day off is attend mass. For me this is very important as it helps me to enlighten my thoughts and it gives me strength. After church I go to school to study or to do volunteering. For several years I volunteered at ACMI to teach International Culinary or Asian Culinary skills. In these classes we teach how to cook, bake, cut vegetables, as well as table settings and mixing drinks. It is always good and very fulfilling to share with others what you have learned. I have now joined the HOME ROSES group and plan to enrol in a baking course at HOME Academy. Perhaps after being a student there I can also become a HOME volunteer, as I am really interested to become a part of the HOME family.
Another thing I like to do on my day off is to meet with my ‘Anda Share Singapore Foundation’ group, where as newly elected president I encourage my group members to do charity work for our beloved countrymen in the Philippines (kababalyan) who are in need in our home town communities (Barangay). This could be people with an intellectual disability, or medical problems like cerebral palsy, needing cancer surgery, or staying in nursing homes. We also support the Feet & Food Ministry, a holistic outreach program in the Philippines.
We collaborate with some other organisations and groups in order to have more participants. Every time we have gatherings, like a birthday party, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, karaoke day, bingo day, zumba day, bbq day — we use them as fundraising events for us to raise money. Having these accomplishments is motivating others too. That joy of helping others is a priceless fulfilment that really touches my heart, an incomparable feeling.
If a domestic worker has no off day it is really frustrating for her. She can feel depressed, exhausted and unmotivated. If you aren’t strong it is really hard to do this job. I am grateful to my boss for giving me every Sunday off. This gave me the time and opportunity to study. When my employer went overseas, they allowed me to bring along my lola, the auntie in my care, so I didn’t have to miss anything. I’ve been working for 14 years with this employer. They always support me in everything I do. I feel like I am valued and part of their family. Even after my lola passed away last December my employer wanted me to continue to work for them.
In my previous job I did not have any days off. I looked after an older lady who had an amputation and was a diabetic patient. She was bedridden and I had to look after her 24/7. I wasn’t happy at the time as I just got here in Singapore and missed my children back home. But my Amah was very good to me despite our language barrier. The doctors at the polyclinic were helpful too, and so were my Filipino neighbours. There were also aunties and uncles in the market that helped me to understand Amah who didn’t speak any English — and I can’t speak Malay.
Rest days without obligations are very valuable to everyone. Often new domestic workers are taken advantage of by their employers because they are still under salary deductions and don’t know their rights. They are asked to work 24/7 taking care of the elderly or young children, which is a very demanding job both physically and mentally.
A solution that I can suggest is for the government to hire more skilled workers, like caregiver graduates or experienced nurses, for patients who need medical assistance, that are affordable for the employers too. As not all can afford to hire two domestic workers to take turns to look after a patient or the elderly and do house chores at the same time. That way they can get extra help and make sure the domestic worker gets enough rest to perform her job well.
Off days are really important for us domestic workers to have a good work-life balance so we can do our job better. When we are happy and rested we can commit wholeheartedly to our employer and make sure they are satisfied with our work.
A HAPPY EMPLOYEE ENSURES A HAPPY EMPLOYER ♥️