How a Filipino domestic helper in Singapore copes with missing her son back home

“It’s very hard to be away from him,” Iris Tuares Pahilga said as she stared at the photos of her 10-year-old son on her phone. “But I talk to him every day.”

The 36-year-old came to Singapore in 2016 to work as a domestic helper and her situation is common. In search of a better job and income to take care of her family, the Filipino made the tough decision to work in a foreign country. 

Before Singapore, she spent just over a year as a foreign domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. At that time, Pahilga’s only child, Aries, was around two years old – she left him in the care of her husband, who works as a contractor in the Philippines, and his sister.

She has now worked for seven years for the Tang-Ling family, caring for twins Scarlett and Sovereign since they were born in 2019. 

Pahilga only returns to her hometown, Iloilo City in the Philippines, once a year and for about a month. Her home leave is precious as it’s the only time she gets to see and interact with her family face-to-face.  

THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AWAY