A domestic worker describes her reliance on faith and her need to give back

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Filipino
Occupation: Domestic worker
Date of interview: 4 September 2020
Language of interview: English

Anwar is 50 years old. She graduated from Philippines University secretarial college. Her three children are college graduates and her husband is a bus driver. She has worked in a number of different roles: as administrative staff for the previous wife of president Fidel Ramos, as a programmer for a foundation and as merchandiser for a footwear company. In 2005, she decided to come to Kuwait because the salaries were supposed to be good. Since then, she has worked as a nanny in many households, until she found her last employer who was excellent and treated her like family. 

When COVID hit, her employer told Anwar that their business was closing and he couldn’t afford to keep her anymore, but he knew her family relied on her income. He agreed to transfer her visa to another house if she could find a good employer, and gave her time to look. She found a position with a family who had had another nanny for seven years - she thought it would be safe to transfer her visa without meeting them. At first, things were okay, but then the father started screaming at her day and night. It was terrible and she didn’t know what to do. She was crying and praying to God every night to make her strong enough to stay there and work because she needed to support her family. Finally she gave up - she asked to leave and agreed to return the advance they had given her if they would only allow her to go. The children of the employer were good people and agreed, and Anwar prayed to God to help her raise the money. Many people in her community gave a little here and there until she had enough to repay them. She returned to her previous employer and looked for another job. This time she was careful to meet each prospective employer. After talking to ten employers, she prayed to God to help her choose a safe home with a good family. That night, at 9:15pm she received a call and she knew that was the employer-- when she met their baby, the baby laughed, and she felt immediately comfortable with them. She now has very little money as she only began work in August and still owes those who helped her. But she sends a little home each month and has told her family to divide it as they can to buy groceries, take care of her mother who had a stroke and her niece with leukemia. She is also supporting her husband, who cannot drive during the lockdown, as well as her four brothers and four sisters. Her money is enough for 25 kilos of rice, which they all share.

In 2017, Anwar started volunteering with a local Filipino organization to help those in need sheltering in the Philippines Embassy, and later to work in a medical mission. When COVID hit, although she was unable to go outside, she worked online using social media platforms to identify people in her community who were at food risk, or who needed baby formula or medication. She collected data for the volunteer organization: names, addresses and needs of each person so that the volunteers on the ground could deliver aid. She now feels blessed with her new job and wants to continue helping others. 

“I don't know, but I'm very happy to help others, even I don't have but I do my best, do my best to do goods to other. Because I believe that if you are doing goods for other, God knows, God will, will [be] there for you, I'm turning back what the God's giving to me. That's why I giving back to others. The things that I experienced, the good things that I have is now-- I have here, I have a good employer before and until now. So I want them, I want this to give back to others.”

In the clip above, Anwar describes how she has been spending her day off differently since the pandemic-- as a community volunteer and advocate.

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