Background

Mdm Ayu*, 34 years old, came to Singapore to work as a domestic helper in order to provide a better life for her son who is now 16 years old. She came from a rural village in Indonesia and thought that by coming to Singapore, she and her son would be able to finally escape poverty.

She arrived on April 2017 and worked for slightly over 6 months for a Singaporean family with two young children who were both below 18 months old.

The Struggle

Life in Singapore has not been easy for Mdm Ayu. She informed us that she was abused on a regular basis which includes beatings with a Teflon pan and a stainless-steel ladle, having soiled diapers smeared all over her face and being made to drink water from the toilet bowl. Mdm Ayu also informed us that her male employer once pulled her left ear so hard that her ear cartilage broke and her left ear is now disfigured.

Mdm Ayu informed us that she finally escaped in January 2018 in the wee hours of the morning. She walked for some time before falling asleep on a staircase where she was found by a fellow domestic helper who gave her some food and water before bringing her to the police station and investigations are still ongoing.

Mdm Ayu is currently staying in a shelter run by a migrant advocacy group and while she is away from harm, she recently developed Myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer and suffered a painful infection which required her to urgently undergo surgery. Due to the urgency of her situation, Mdm Ayu took loans from various people and underwent surgery on the 3^rd of August 2019.

Give Hope – Help Needed

Ray of Hope would like to raise S$3,000 so that Mdm Ayu is able to repay back part of the cost of surgery to the people that she took a loan from. Our organization have verified the receipts and will be making the payment directly to them. Mdm Ayu is currently recuperating from surgery and she does not know how long she is expected to remain in Singapore as investigations are still ongoing. Life has been difficult and unfair to Mdm Ayu so please help to lighten her burden!

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of Mdm Ayu while police investigations are still ongoing