- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
[h=1]New fund for foreign workers in need[/h][h=2]Public can donate to pool of money to help those without food, medical care or shelter[/h]
Published on May 27, 2012
<IFRAME style="WIDTH: 57px; HEIGHT: 62px" class="twitter-share-button twitter-count-vertical" title="Twitter Tweet Button" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1337330192.html#_=1338091906440&count=vertical&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straitstimes.com%2FBreakingNews%2FSingapore%2FStory%2FSTIStory_803745.html&size=m&text=New%20fund%20for%20foreign%20workers%20in%20need&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straitstimes.com%2FBreakingNews%2FSingapore%2FStory%2FSTIStory_803745.html" frameBorder=0 allowTransparency scrolling=no></IFRAME>
5Share
<g:plusone></g:plusone>
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
<!--close .storyLeft--><!--start of story image, if any-->
Bangladeshi Bimol Chandra Saha sleeping at an HDB void deck. He is on the streets, having run out of money, and is awaiting the outcome of a work injury claim. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
<!--end of story image, if any--><!-- storyAds:start --><!-- Copyright DoubleClick Inc., All rights reserved. --><!-- This code was autogenerated @ Mon May 14 05:30:11 EDT 2012 --><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
<!-- storyAds:end -->By Amelia Tan
<!--start of story text-->Foreign workers who find themselves without food, medical care or shelter are to receive help from a newly established fund.
The pool of money, which the public can donate to, will pay for the work of non-governmental organisation the Migrant Workers' Centre.
An inaugural fund-raising event will be held later this year, with details to be announced in due course.
<!--close .relatedLinks, if any-->[h=5]Background story[/h]HE SLEEPS AT VOID DECK, CARPARK
The streets of Little India have been home to Bangladeshi worker Bimol Chandra Saha for close to eight months.
His daily routine of finding a place to sleep in a carpark, alleyway, or void deck starts at about midnight when the crowds thin out and shops are shuttered.
It is close to 3am when he finally settles down to sleep.
He is often joined by dozens of other Bangladeshi workers who have left the lodging provided by their employers because of disputes.
Many have free meals at a restaurant in Little India sponsored by migrant workers group Transient Workers Count Too.
Mr Bimol, 27, came to Singapore to work at a shipyard in 2008. He was happy with his job until 2010, when he slipped and hurt his leg at work.
He said his boss was not happy about paying for his medical bills and started scolding him.
He left his dormitory and started renting a bed space at a shophouse in Little India for about $200 a month. But he ran out of money last September and had to start living on the streets.
He is still waiting for the compensation claim for his leg injury to be settled, but does not know when that will happen.
He said: 'I am very tired of waiting but I have no choice. I want to go back to Bangladesh soon and come back to Singapore again and earn more money.'
<!--close .background story, if any-->
<!--close .storyExtras-->Called the Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund, the initiative was granted charity status by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports earlier this month.
Published on May 27, 2012
<IFRAME style="WIDTH: 57px; HEIGHT: 62px" class="twitter-share-button twitter-count-vertical" title="Twitter Tweet Button" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1337330192.html#_=1338091906440&count=vertical&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straitstimes.com%2FBreakingNews%2FSingapore%2FStory%2FSTIStory_803745.html&size=m&text=New%20fund%20for%20foreign%20workers%20in%20need&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straitstimes.com%2FBreakingNews%2FSingapore%2FStory%2FSTIStory_803745.html" frameBorder=0 allowTransparency scrolling=no></IFRAME>
5Share
<g:plusone></g:plusone>
2
inShare
inShare


<!--close .storyLeft--><!--start of story image, if any-->

<!--end of story image, if any--><!-- storyAds:start --><!-- Copyright DoubleClick Inc., All rights reserved. --><!-- This code was autogenerated @ Mon May 14 05:30:11 EDT 2012 --><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
<!-- storyAds:end -->By Amelia Tan
<!--start of story text-->Foreign workers who find themselves without food, medical care or shelter are to receive help from a newly established fund.
The pool of money, which the public can donate to, will pay for the work of non-governmental organisation the Migrant Workers' Centre.
An inaugural fund-raising event will be held later this year, with details to be announced in due course.
<!--close .relatedLinks, if any-->[h=5]Background story[/h]HE SLEEPS AT VOID DECK, CARPARK
The streets of Little India have been home to Bangladeshi worker Bimol Chandra Saha for close to eight months.
His daily routine of finding a place to sleep in a carpark, alleyway, or void deck starts at about midnight when the crowds thin out and shops are shuttered.
It is close to 3am when he finally settles down to sleep.
He is often joined by dozens of other Bangladeshi workers who have left the lodging provided by their employers because of disputes.
Many have free meals at a restaurant in Little India sponsored by migrant workers group Transient Workers Count Too.
Mr Bimol, 27, came to Singapore to work at a shipyard in 2008. He was happy with his job until 2010, when he slipped and hurt his leg at work.
He said his boss was not happy about paying for his medical bills and started scolding him.
He left his dormitory and started renting a bed space at a shophouse in Little India for about $200 a month. But he ran out of money last September and had to start living on the streets.
He is still waiting for the compensation claim for his leg injury to be settled, but does not know when that will happen.
He said: 'I am very tired of waiting but I have no choice. I want to go back to Bangladesh soon and come back to Singapore again and earn more money.'
<!--close .background story, if any-->
<!--close .storyExtras-->Called the Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund, the initiative was granted charity status by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports earlier this month.