Written by: Agnes Tim Mao Ying
NTU Psychology Undergraduate

During my summer break in May 2022, I had the opportunity to intern with Hope Initiative Alliance (HIA) under the department of Special Programmes and Projects. During my internship, I was particularly involved in The Alliance of Domestic Employees Outreach (ADEO), a movement of HIA led by team lead Ms Joyder Ng, that is dedicated to providing holistic care to the migrant domestic workers in Singapore’s community.

This internship with ADEO and HIA was my first experience working in a non profit organisation and it was very insightful to say the least. Working in a non profit organisation is no easy feat as manpower is always in short supply but this internship has taught me to think outside the box in order to do more given the limited resources. Under the guidance of Ms Joyder Ng, I was encouraged to do many new things such as liaising with partners, drafting proposals for events as well as designing posters for social media outreach. It was a very encouraging experience working with Joyder as she constantly appreciates her teammates and puts her trust in them to think of interesting ways to better serve the migrant domestic workers.

I was also given the chance to be a part of a team that organised a mini appreciation carnival for 300 migrant domestic workers in Singapore, in celebration of International Migrant Domestic Workers Day on 16 June. There were many ups and downs during the planning itself but I was very encouraged to see that at the end of the day, the migrant domestic workers enjoyed the various events that the team had planned. Knowing that these migrant domestic workers appreciated the event that was planned for them was very comforting as it meant that our weeks of planning had not gone to waste.

During my ten weeks interning with ADEO, I’ve had the honour of meeting various kindred spirits who like Joyder and the HIA team, also have the heart to serve the migrant domestic worker community in Singapore. It was a very humbling experience to see other migrant domestic workers stepping forward during ADEO’s events to volunteer and spend their precious Sunday afternoon caring for the other migrant domestic sisters in their midst.

All in all, this internship with ADEO and HIA has been an extremely meaningful and fruitful experience, broadening my worldview and reigniting my passion for community service. This precious time that I’ve spent working together with ADEO and HIA will serve to be a life lesson that I will carry with me into the future and I genuinely look forward to doing more with ADEO as a volunteer to benefit the migrant domestic workers in Singapore.