A day out with our migrant workers

12 July 2019

On 7 July 2019, HOME took 25 migrant workers for a day out to Gardens by the Bay. The intent behind the outing was simple: to overcome the invisible barriers that segregate migrant workers from the Singapore they helped build; and to temporarily alleviate the stress of their cases.

On arrival at the Gardens’ Flower Dome, the workers banded into 5 teams, each accompanied by a volunteer. The day was spiced up with some friendly competition. The teams had to write down either the common or scientific names of the flowers and plants pictured on activity sheets. They needed to navigate the world’s largest greenhouse to find the species and their names.

Despite the diversity of languages within the teams, the workers were resourceful in pooling their talents to accomplish their mission.  Along the way, they found plenty of photo opportunities for colourful selfies and wefies against the gorgeous backdrop of exotic flora. 

We celebrated everyone’s hard work and gave out prizes for the most cooperative, most accurate, fastest, most creative, and most funny teams. In the end, everyone was a winner. After the team activities, the workers ventured the misty sights of the Cloud Forest, with its awe-inspiring waterfall vista.

As one volunteer Faris said: “It was a good chance for migrant workers to see a part of Singapore they are usually excluded from.”