Help for our Indian domestic workers
Donation protected
Dear friends,
Given the deteriorating situation in India due to Covid-19, we've set up this gofundme.com page to help our wonderful former staff, who have been lifesavers during our stay in India, and are now at risk of losing their livelihood as well as access to quality education for their children for an extended period of time.
Some background
In India, having domestic help (i.e. cook, cleaner, driver) is the norm for people in the middle and upper socioeconomic classes. Domestic workers typically come from impoverished lower castes, many being illiterate/low skilled due to lack of opportunity for an education. Working for expat families usually helps these workers break out of poverty and into the lower middle class, as the salaries tend to be higher and many expats help pay for the education of the workers' children (education in the free government schools is considered to be very poor) as well as provide loans, which domestic workers struggle to receive through banks. Unfortunately, given expats only stay for a few years at a time, job security is low and workers rely on new expat families arriving. If they struggle to find a job, they won't get any financial support from the government, as domestic workers have no legal protections in India.
In our case
Our amazing staff, Lakshmi (our cook/ cleaner), Hamsa (our nanny) and Murali (our driver), have worked for expats for c.20 years. They work extremely hard (i.e. Lakshmi worked for me full time and on top of that worked 2 additional part time jobs, and Murali worked 14 hour days) so that they could pay for their kids' education and help them break out of the cycle of poverty.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, they are currently struggling to find full-time jobs, as the new families we had lined up for them to work for have left India/are no longer coming, and the current supply of domestic workers is much greater than demand (most expats have left or already have staff, and some families are getting rid of their staff altogether for fear of exposure to the virus).
We have continued to pay our staff their full salaries since the lockdown began in March, and will continue to do so for the next few months. However, because we are not in a position to do so indefinitely, we really worry about their livelihood and the ability of their children to continue their studies.
We'd like to ask for your help
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting all of us, and we're all struggling in our own ways...However, it is undeniable that this pandemic will impact the developing countries and the poorest people the most. Experts estimate that in India the Covid-19 peak will come in November, so it looks like it'll be a very tough year for the millions of domestic and daily wage workers who have lost their jobs.
Sadly we can't help all these people, but we'd like to do all we can to help ensure that our beloved former staff can pay their rent, put food on the table and keep their kids learning until things normalise. Ben and I, Lakshmi, Hamsa, Murali and their children would be forever grateful if you could please help - anything you can donate would be immensely appreciated, no contribution is too small.
How the funds will be used
The funds will be divided across our former staff to support them with:
- rent
- food
- school and university fees
- purchase of a laptop to allow for remote studying as schools/universities are holding online classes only
Thank you in advance for your kind hearts and generosity.
Given the deteriorating situation in India due to Covid-19, we've set up this gofundme.com page to help our wonderful former staff, who have been lifesavers during our stay in India, and are now at risk of losing their livelihood as well as access to quality education for their children for an extended period of time.
Some background
In India, having domestic help (i.e. cook, cleaner, driver) is the norm for people in the middle and upper socioeconomic classes. Domestic workers typically come from impoverished lower castes, many being illiterate/low skilled due to lack of opportunity for an education. Working for expat families usually helps these workers break out of poverty and into the lower middle class, as the salaries tend to be higher and many expats help pay for the education of the workers' children (education in the free government schools is considered to be very poor) as well as provide loans, which domestic workers struggle to receive through banks. Unfortunately, given expats only stay for a few years at a time, job security is low and workers rely on new expat families arriving. If they struggle to find a job, they won't get any financial support from the government, as domestic workers have no legal protections in India.
In our case
Our amazing staff, Lakshmi (our cook/ cleaner), Hamsa (our nanny) and Murali (our driver), have worked for expats for c.20 years. They work extremely hard (i.e. Lakshmi worked for me full time and on top of that worked 2 additional part time jobs, and Murali worked 14 hour days) so that they could pay for their kids' education and help them break out of the cycle of poverty.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, they are currently struggling to find full-time jobs, as the new families we had lined up for them to work for have left India/are no longer coming, and the current supply of domestic workers is much greater than demand (most expats have left or already have staff, and some families are getting rid of their staff altogether for fear of exposure to the virus).
We have continued to pay our staff their full salaries since the lockdown began in March, and will continue to do so for the next few months. However, because we are not in a position to do so indefinitely, we really worry about their livelihood and the ability of their children to continue their studies.
We'd like to ask for your help
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting all of us, and we're all struggling in our own ways...However, it is undeniable that this pandemic will impact the developing countries and the poorest people the most. Experts estimate that in India the Covid-19 peak will come in November, so it looks like it'll be a very tough year for the millions of domestic and daily wage workers who have lost their jobs.
Sadly we can't help all these people, but we'd like to do all we can to help ensure that our beloved former staff can pay their rent, put food on the table and keep their kids learning until things normalise. Ben and I, Lakshmi, Hamsa, Murali and their children would be forever grateful if you could please help - anything you can donate would be immensely appreciated, no contribution is too small.
How the funds will be used
The funds will be divided across our former staff to support them with:
- rent
- food
- school and university fees
- purchase of a laptop to allow for remote studying as schools/universities are holding online classes only
Thank you in advance for your kind hearts and generosity.
Organizer and beneficiary
Alina Bouisseau
Organizer
Benjamin Bouisseau
Beneficiary
