Lianhe Zaobao feature on aidha, published on 18 July 2011.

International team to help local migrant women workers

Opposite grand hotels, close to Orchard Road and on a small rise, there is an inconspicuous white house. On Sundays, domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam gather in this building. These maids are not there to party; instead, they to come Aidha to learn financial management, entrepreneurship and computer skills. In the small space of this house, there are people gathered in all corners to learn. In the midst of this, 34-year old Veronica Gamez directs the activity.

Giving up a well-paid job to join a non-profit organization

Veronica, of Mexican origin, became the Executive Director of aidha in 2009. Veronica left home as a teenager, and went to the Cass business school in London, where she obtained her undergraduate degree. She then obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago. Subsequently, she worked hard for the banking industry in London for more than 10 years, and in June 2008 was sent by her employer to the Singapore Branch of her company.

In her new post, Veronica took the initiative to volunteer at aidha. Once lit, her passion could not be dimmed, so Veronica quit the bank in late 2008 to work full-time without pay at Aidha.

She did not quit her high-paying job to join a non-profit organization because she was tired of the high pressure work environment. In fact, Veronica enjoyed her previous work because it was full of challenges and opportunities. Giving up a stable job to live in a strange city is not easy for anyone, and Veronica hesitated for a long time. Eventually, what made her decide to leave was her concern for the struggles of migrants, which had been impressed on her since childhood.

“You know, Mexico has the world’s largest population outflow in the world. When I was young, I used to see the on television the struggles of Mexicans trying to sneak into neighboring countries – those have been impressed on my mind. I used to think that microfinance can effectively lift migrants out of poverty, but then I found that the benefits of teaching entrepreneurial skills to migrants were even greater. Aidha educates people to start micro-businesses, which is in line with my passion.”

Launching a two-year comprehensive plan

When Aidha was established, the classes introduced were short-term ones. Classes ran at aidha every Sunday, and as long as maids were interested in taking classes, they were welcome to join. Even if they had no money to pay school fees, volunteers and staff would welcome students into the classes, and they could pay later. However, in order to conduct classes in a more systematic and efficient manner, aidha introduced an integrated two-year programme last September.

The school hours for the first and second year programmes are the same. Students come to aidha twice a month, for three hours each time.  In the first year, students learn financial management, leadership skills, and computer skills. Veronica pointed out that the objective of the course is not only to teach students about savings, but also to strengthen their communication skills and their skills in planning for the future.

Veronica said: “Many maids send most of their salary home, and only leave $50 or $100 for themselves, so they do not have long-term savings for themselves, and cannot make long-term plans for the future. We want to help them realize that they should communicate better with their families and learn how to better invest their hard-earned savings. If they can set up a small business, they can build up a steady source of income for the future, and do not have to leave home again to work abroad as maids.”

The second year curriculum on one hand retains the computing skills training, and on the other hand emphasizes management and entrepreneurial skills training. The course fees are very low: the first year course costs $250 and the second year course costs $350. If students cannot pay in a lump sum, they can also pay in installments.

When aidha first started, the first batch of students was only 25 strong. Six years later, aidha now welcomes 8 groups of 15 students into its premises every Sunday for classes, and every month takes in dozens of new students.

Perseverance and optimism as driving forces

As aidha’s Executive Director, Veronica did not receive pay for the first two years, and now she gets a nominal living allowance. But Veronica does not see herself as poor; in fact, she feels richer than she was before.

She said: “My soul has become ‘richer’. Even though we face many challenges, including huge difficulties in sourcing for annual operating expenses, the work we do is extremely fulfilling. Almost every student who comes here for classes has a heart-breaking personal story, but they are able to keep going with strength and determination. Their perseverance and optimism are our greatest motivation.”

Aidha’s founder Sarah: Trying to set up a branch in Abu Dhabi

Aidha’s founder Sarah Mavrinac feels the same way as Veronica, and that is why her passion for volunteer work has not diminished through the years. Sarah is an American, and both she and her husband were professors at the French-based business school INSEAD. She came to Singapore with her husband in 2002 to teach. In order to throw herself into aidha’s work, she gave up her teaching position in 2006. In 2005, she became a Singapore permanent resident.

Since aidha’s model has achieved success in Singapore, Sarah is now trying to set up a branch in Abu Dhabi. To explain why aidha grew successfully in Singapore, Sarah said: “Singapore is a small country, with a sound information network, and so when new institutions are set up, people will know about them very quickly. In addition, the public sector is quite supportive of non-governmental organisations, which makes the route to success simpler.”

Huge volunteer resources

In addition to the island’s high efficiency, the international talent available locally is also a huge source of volunteers for non-governmental organisations. Aidha has more than 500 volunteers, and most of its volunteer instructors are professionals from Singapore, India, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, and other different countries.

Veronica said: “Even though I have not been in Singapore for a long time, I feel that the culture of volunteerism is more widespread here. Whether they are Singaporean or expatriates, many people seek out volunteer opportunities on their own initiative. When I myself was in London, I did not even think f volunteering.”

Sarah has a different explanation. “Many foreign professionals come to Singapore to work, and their wives may also have high qualifications and work experience. When they move here with their husbands and are not engaged in formal employment, they become a tremendous volunteer resource.”

Help maids learn computer skills and start internet cafe in the Philippines

Before Marilyn came to aidha, she had little knowledge of computers and the internet. She only knew how to type and send emails, but did not even know how to use Google to surf the internet. Now, she not only has more confidence in using the computer; she has even set up an internet café with her sister in her home country, the Philippines.

Marilyn: investing in an internet business with her sister

At 43 years of age, Marilyn is single and only has secondary education. She was originally from the Philippines and worked in a hardware store. In order to support her aging father and aunt, she decided to go abroad to work as a maid, as the meager wages she was earning in the village were far from enough. She worked for three years in Dubai, and came to Singapore a little more than a year ago to work with a Dutch employer. With the encouragement of her new employer, she gathered the courage to enroll in aidha’s courses.

Marilyn said: “When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, but because the family did not have money, I had to give up studying after secondary school. After I started working as a maid, I drifted and thought life would always be like that, but coming to aidha helped me to realize that I am in control of my own destiny.”

Marilyn confidently told reporters that she was now not only competent in using the computer; but also knew how to make presentations, video clips, and use a variety of social platforms such as facebook. In addition, because of her interest in the computers, she saved a portion of her income to invest in an internet business with her sister. Now, Marilyn gives income from the internet business to her father for household use, but saves her salary to pay for the professional diploma courses that she is now taking.

Flordelyn: hopeing to learn financial management and entrepreneurship

Marilyn’s fellow student Flordelyn and Indonesian Supartini have only attended three months of classes, but they are already full of hope and confidence, and also have plans to develop micro-enterprises in the future.

32-year-old Flordelyn told reporters that she did not want her daughter to grow up and have to leave home to work as a maid like she did, so she enrolled at aidha after being introduced by a friend. She hopes that after learning financial management and entrepreneurship, she will be able to go home and start a business selling fish.

Flordelyn said: “I am most appreciative of my Singaporean employer. When I told her that I would like two days off to study at aidha, she did not challenge me, but instead encouraged me to enroll. I feel fortunate to have such an understanding employer.”

Supartini: motivated by her employer

Supartini also said that her employer’s motivation was the decisive factor for her in trying out new things. She came to Singapore five years ago, and has been working with the same employer. Her employer trusted her, and had no objections to her taking time off to learn financial skills.

Supartini admitted that because she was single, she had not saved money in the past. But after six classes at aidha, she not only realized the importance of saving, but also has aspirations to start a small business in the future.

Supartini said: “We have lots of land in the countryside, so the capital required for farming is not very high. I can actually start small, buying a few cows, and then moving on to selling milk and other things.”

“Lianhe Zaobao” 
(Editor: Ye Wenqi)