HONG KONG (SE): “I am so thankful to all the staff in the shelter who support me and give me counselling with spiritual guidance to face the bad memories after the infection,” said Nida Cadorna, a former resident of a temporary shelter in Tsing Yi. Managed by the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos [Migrants] [DPCF], the shelter started to operate on March 4 for migrant workers who had tested negative for the Covid-19 and needed to quarantine.
Sister Corazon Demetillo, director of the DPCF, said, “The shelter was set up because of an increasing number of migrant workers tested positive for Covid and called for assistance. A few among them were being terminated or sent out by their employers with nowhere to go.”
She knew many of them had to sleep on the streets, and others waited for hours and days outside the hospital. Once recovered, they may have to return home. Moreover, some of them had to wait at the airport in cold weather.
On February 25, Sister Demetillo received approval from Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, to run a temporary shelter in Tsing Yi for recovering migrant workers who tested negative in government isolation facilities or shelters run by non-government organisations such as MercyHK or HELP for Domestic Workers. The shelter accommodates 16 people at one time.
Apart from being a place of rest for recovering workers before they return to work or fly back home, it also offers counselling and spiritual guidance, and assists with needs like renewing visas, re-scheduling of flights, and so on
She stressed that the shelter accepts cases regardless of culture, faith, beliefs or nationalities. As of March 24, 28 migrant workers had been admitted to the shelter, including 26 Filipinos and two Indonesians. Among them, 14 had been terminated by their employers. Fifteen have been discharged from the shelter and 10 returned to the Philippines.
While Sister Demetillo serves as its coordinator, the shelter is supported by Maryknoll Sisters Susan Glass, Esther Warioba and Armeline Sidoine. Other volunteers include Lulu Salazar from the Bayanihan Centre, Kennedy Town, who is a consultant, and Betchy Manuel and Gina Damulo from the Missionary Families of Christ.
The shelter also works closely with the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, Caritas Community Development Services, and the Coalition of Service Providers for Ethnic Minorities.
Apart from being a place of rest for recovering workers before they return to work or fly back home, it also offers counselling and spiritual guidance, and assists with needs like renewing visas, re-scheduling of flights, and so on.
Sister Demetillo said many workers in the shelter need counselling after they test positive because they are traumatised both by the infection and by termination from their jobs without notice. They have been sent out of their employer’s home with no place to go and no one to help. Financial stress, such as the need to repay loans and paying their kids’ school fees can also traumatise them. Some cannot forget the bad experience of being regarded as “dirty” after testing positive, while others have court cases or other family issues causing anxieties.
In addition to counselling, the shelter offers spiritual guidance to encourage the inmates to think about what they have learned from the experience, their source of strength when helpless, their experiences of God’s care, and the importance of prayer. The spiritual guidance session is done through a one-to-one conversation with the religious sisters or experienced lay carers before workers leave.
I was always praying to God that he gave me strength, but my anger toward my boss was still there deep inside my heart because she kicked me out right away after I tested positive, and I did not have any shelter to go
“I was always praying to God that he gave me strength, but my anger toward my boss was still there deep inside my heart because she kicked me out right away after I tested positive, and I did not have any shelter to go,” Cadorna, who had recovered and went back to her employer on March 21, shared.
She said that after the religious sisters and volunteers came to the shelter and shared the Word of God with the residents, she was able to calm down and forgive people who had hurt her.
She recalled that she had a sore throat on February 26, a week after her male employer was infected. She tested positive that evening. Her employer tried to find a hotel for her, but in vain. At 8.30pm, her employer told her to leave even though she was sick and could not find a shelter. She was afraid that she might need to sleep in the nearby park in Taikoo Shing like many other foreign domestic workers she saw. The cold weather that day made her feel uncomfortable waiting downstairs.
“I was very emotional that night because I am the breadwinner of my family, and my dad has a sickness too. I felt so troubled,” she said.
Fortunately, she had called HELP for Migrant Workers an hour before and the group came in time to bring her to a shelter in Stanley at around 9.45pm that night. Her employer came to the shelter the next day to bring her some medicine. She was later tested negative and was allowed to move to the DPCF shelter for quarantine.
Residents at the shelter are also encouraged to join Bible reflection sharings conducted twice or thrice a week, online Sunday Masses, and the daily recitation of the rosary. On Fridays, the Stations of the Cross, seen through the life of Overseas Filipino Workers, is prayed.
Furthermore, the Maryknoll Sisters lead therapeutic activities, such as singing, dancing, exercises, playing the drums, crocheting, artwork, and gardening. “These activities keep them physically fit and help them express their feelings and enhance good relationships,” the sister said.
The shelter welcomes donations from concerned people or organisations. Cash donations can be sent to the ICBC account of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos numbered 072-701-010036191.
