Lifeline for Hong Kong charity PathFinders allows it to press on with mission to help migrant worker mums amid tough times
- PathFinders gets needed boost from Operation Santa Claus after seeing funds drive halted by pandemic
- Calls from stranded domestic helpers in city, some pregnant, have surged as health crisis cripples air travel
“The event usually accounts for 30 per cent of our income,” Pathfinders CEO Catherine Gurtin said. “So it was tough.”
The charity was also seeing a spike in pregnant migrant workers seeking help, many of whom had become stranded in Hong Kong after being let go by their employers, as some flights out of the city were suspended.
“We saw an 80 per cent increase in calls to our hotline from January to April this year,” Harriet Beavis, the director of fundraising, said. “Our five frontline case managers are typically working on 25 cases each, but now it’s gone up to 40. The funding is a real lifeline for us.”
03:08
Operation Santa Claus 2020 kicks off with ‘Caring Community, Caring Christmas’ theme
Before the pandemic, such workers had to leave the city within two weeks of contract termination, but in March, the government announced it would allow them to apply for an extension of stay under “visitor” status, to be renewed monthly.
