1. What is your name and the name of the organisation you represent?
My name is Liza Avelino. I represent PathFinders as one of the ambassadors for migrant workers.
2. Tell us a bit more about yourself and the migrant group you founded.
I am 49 years old. I came from the Philippines and have been working as a domestic worker in Hong Kong for 23 years. I am an avid hiker, mountain climber, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Filipino Dynamo Dragonboat Association of Hong Kong (an all Filipina domestic helper team).
The migrant group I founded is a dragon boat team called The Filipino Dynamo Dragonboat Team. We spend our day offs training on land and water. We participated in the races during the Dragonboat season in Hong Kong.
3. What inspired you to become a Pathfinders ambassador?
After I watched the film The Helper Documentary (Directed by Joana Bowers) about the story of Nurul and her baby, and how PathFinders helped their case, I was inspired by their great work in helping/educating migrant women and their children. I feel like I wanted to give back to the organisation in any ways I can. After that, I dedicated my mountain climbing trip to Mt Damavand in Iran in 2019 as a fundraiser for PathFinders and I also became one of their ambassadors for migrant workers.
4. What social issues would you like to see improve?
What I would like to see improve is for the government to address the underlying issues behind the exploitation of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong.
5. Advice for fellow migrant workers
My advice for fellow migrant workers is to find joy and comfort in taking care of yourself by doing exercise, hike, eat healthy food, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, get enough sleep and most of all keep a positive attitude.
6. How can members of the community contact your group and reach out to Pathfinders for help?
For those members of the community can contact me via message on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/liza.avelino if they want to reach out to PathFinders for help.
Blogs by
9dde49c3be6bac6166d59fb7abf39532)
