Rhelyn Harder
- The family would not provide her enough food and would mostly give her leftovers
- She was always given a task to work for long hours and was not given a chance to rest, even during her days off
- A GoGetFunding campaign, initiated by her sister’s employer, had donations pouring in from across the world, raising more than HK$801 million (nearly Php5.4 million)
Many of us wants to work abroad, thinking of the high salary being offered. Some of us may be lucky enough to find a good and kind employer, but others may have worst experiences working abroad and would end up, either, losing their jobs or running away from their employer.
An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), named Baby Jane Allas, had worked in Hong Kong as a domestic helper who was very unlucky with her employer. The family would not provide her enough food and would mostly give her leftovers.
Though most of the time she was left alone, she can’t cook her own meals because all the food in the refrigerator were all counted, including the eggs.
She was always given a task to work for long hours but was not given a chance to rest, even during her days off. Baby Jane was so grateful because her sister Mary Anne was also working in Hong Kong and has a very kind employer, Jessica Cutrera. Most of the time, she would ask her employer for extra food for her sister Baby Jane.
Her sister’s employer wanted to help Baby Jane file charges against her employer, for the ill treatment, but then she said that she just have to endure the hardship and finish her contract.
https://www.facebook.com/jessicacutrera/posts/10156267732925547
In 2018, Baby Jane felt ill and needed medical attention, but her employer refused to take her to the hospital and undergo a medical check-up. She was only allowed to go to a clinic when she was already very ill and received a stage 3 diagnosis. When her employer knew about her condition, they immediately terminated her fromher job, instead of supporting her. Baby Jane’s employers had taken her papers and medical records, which caused delays in her treatment and had to undergo the tests all over again.
Now, she’s jobless and also meant losing access to her healthcare benefit.
Mary Anne’s employer was an angel, who offered help by paying the initial expenses. But still, without her insurance, the treatment is too expensive. They were thinking of hiring Baby Jane to obtain her healthcare benefit back, but because of her advanced stage condition, being unfit under the Hong Kong law, she would not be allowed her to work; even if someone is willing to accept her.
She was too ill to go back to the Philippines for treatment and Hong Kong was her only hope of survival. So her sister’s employer, Jessica, turned to the internet for help by sharing Baby Jane’s condition to the world and asking for some help, so she could survive.
After being terminated, Jessica also helped her file charges against her former employer for unjust termination. Though she only had 30 days to exit Hong Kong, they found a way to have this extended, as they brought the case to court.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156296128445547&set=a.125857090546&type=3
By a GoGetFunding campaign initiated by her sister’s employer, donations poured in from across the world, raising more than HK$801 million (nearly Php5.4 million) with over 1,200 donors and supporters wishing her to get well and telling her that she’d win the case against her employer.
The Adventist Hospital Foundation has also promised to find ways to reduce her medical bills and gave her discounts on all the treatment she needed, including incidentals.
Baby Jane still need to undergo several treatments, but many netizens, who were willing to help, positively think that she would survive this trial.
