Helper Appreciation Month: Helper First Aid, Childcare and Business Courses

Education is a key to ensuring helpers break the cycle of poverty; check out these childcare and first aid courses for helpers to help them upskill

Our longstanding collaboration with organisations that give amazing support to Foreign Domestic Workers – Aidha and HOME – has been instrumental in bringing our Helper Appreciation initiative to where it is today.

In collaboration with Aidha, HOME, FAST and Uplifters, check out these courses aimed at upskilling helpers, as first aid, education and financial literacy are key to helping them break the cycle of poverty and improve their families’ financial standing. We are also pleased to announce some great baby and childcare courses provided by Beauty Mums & Babies and The Bright Life.

Click through for all the details!

A local charity founded in 2006, Aidha provides financial literacy, communication, computer and business courses to foreign domestic workers and low-income Singaporean women. Through a series of courses, programmes aim to break the cycle of poverty by encouraging women to save, invest, and start a business to plan for their futures. Along the way they also build confidence by learning to present to their peers. Aidha’s impact data shows that students increase their monthly savings by 40% after their first module, and by almost 70% after the second! As many as 40% of Aidha alumni start their own businesses and 80% make investments in productive assets like land and livestock. By educating one woman, Aidha can in turn help impact nine lives!

Read about five Aidha success stories here!

Courses last for six months, and are offered on Sundays (morning and afternoon options).

Aidha, email [email protected] or Tel: (+65) 6341 5287, www.aidha.org

Since 2004, Beauty Mums & Babies has been the trusted leader in providing wellness services for mothers and babies. Beauty Mums & Babies seeks to provide comfort and boost the confidence of all caretakers – including both parents and helpers – during the different stages of motherhood and childhood. Popular courses include:

• Express Infant Massage Course (non-certified)
  This 3-hour course is great for caretakers to learn the essential massage techniques for infants. Infant massage classes are a fun way to learn how to soothe and relieve tummy upset; how to understand the non-verbal language of babies, and much more.
• Infant First Aid Workshop
  In this 120-minute course, caregivers receive vital first aid training to ensure baby’s safety. It’s an important way to understand the non-verbal language of children, especially infants who cannot express how they feel and what is wrong with them. The workshop also provides key tips for childproofing your home to ensure little one grows up in a safe environment.

Beauty Mums & Babies, #14-11/12 Paragon, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore 238859, Tel: (+65) 6235 0688, www.beautymumsbabies.com

The Bright Life offers parenting workshops and programmes that focus on translating education and psychology research into practical strategies for parenting, happiness, and effective organisational development. Their signature Way of Eight© Montessori workshop is great for helpers caring for children aged 0-6, as they’re empowered with Montessori tools to support a child’s development. Helpers will learn how to provide the right stimuli to engage children’s sense of wonder, and will gain a deeper understanding of when and how to intervene when a child is struggling with a tantrum. Ultimately, the Way of Eight course instills confidence in both parents and helpers in nurturing happy children!

The Bright Life, Tel: (+65) 8752 2217, www.welcometothebrightlife.com

FAST (The Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training) is a charity supported by the Ministry of Manpower that strives to help foreign domestic workers build up their skill sets to enhance their future employability, while benefiting their employers and local community in the meantime. FAST has organised and planned countless specialised and professional skills programmes for FDWs, with an average of 25,000-30,000 helpers participating each year! Classes range from English language, to computer skills, nursing, stress management and entrepreneurial skills. FAST also provides a 24-hour helpline and other social supports like free meditation, pro bono legal assistance, and a humanitarian assistance fund. And FAST has an amazing clubhouse space that provides social, recreational and educational activities for FDWs! Click below for details on how to access the clubhouse.

FAST, 2985 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-1B, Singapore 159457, www.fast.org.sg

In conjunction with HOME, HOME Academy is a charity organization that provides skill development courses for foreign domestic workers. The wide range of courses includes Caregiver for Elderly and Baby, Nursing Aide, Baking & Cooking, Beauty Salon, Cosmetology, Computers, English, Dressmaking, Martial Arts and Financial Planning. HOME works with nursing homes for the student practicum against the National Competency Standard from the Philippines for National Assessment.

Read more: HOME’S Foreign Domestic Worker Rights series

HOME Academy, (+65) 9128 7068, www.home.org.sg, www.facebook.com/migrantworkerssg

Uplifters is a non-profit organisation providing online education to foreign domestic workers to lift them out of poverty by improving their life skills and vocational skills. Their hallmark offering is a FREE 3-week online money management and personal growth course. It’s super easy to register, just visit their Facebook page and click “send message”!

Uplifters also offers and affordable 10-hour comprehensive online Baby Care Course priced at $140. Helpers will engage with content based on WHO and UNICEF guidelines covering baby care, safety and development from 0 to 18 months of age. This online module taught by pediatrician Dr. Blandine Prévost also provides 1-to-1 online support and unlimited access to a Facebook group with experts – including pediatricians, pediatric nurses, and midwives – to answer any and all questions.

The employer will also get access to a FREE online Domestic Worker – Parents Working Relationship module to help them communicate their expectations regarding routine and baby care to their domestic worker and establish healthy working relationships with her. Uplifters recommends domestic workers to enroll with their employers, as most problems and accidents happen because of miscommunication and misalignment issues.

How to register: Click here for more information on the course; and click here to join the Facebook group to receive updates on exact timings. Domestic workers must have a Facebook account, smartphone, and access to Wi-Fi

Uplifters, email [email protected], www.uplifters-edu.org, www.facebook.com/uplifters.community