Lost and Found

Our longest staying Chinese migrant worker, T, has finally gone home after staying in Singapore for the past 5 years. I was privileged to be part of his last few days in Singapore as he shared his story with me. T came to Singapore to work back in 2013. However, due to a […]

An Unlikely Friendship

Li Zheng Yuan “Thank you for hosting us,” Paul says, his eyes sparkling expectantly. It was a sentence taught to him by a teacher from the United World College, during a joint outreach program between the school and HealthServe. He says that to everyone now, at every opportunity he gets. Paul, or Li […]

Introducing Humour and Light-heartededness in Wan Jun’s Life

By all accounts, 26 January 2017 should have been just like any other ordinary day in Wan Jun’s life. His 16 years of experience in doing plastering work, especially in Singapore, made him incredibly seasoned at his job, and he knew the ins-and-outs of the business intimately. And this construction work was the […]

A Second Home

Our migrant brother, K (name changed), is a regular face at HealthServe. One can often catch him bustling around purposefully at our Desker centre – from manning the coupon collection at our Desker Food Project, to joining our migrant brothers in cooking lunch on Wednesdays for everyone else, and even tidying up and […]

Ming Quan, the Sole Breadwinner

“I have no dreams. I’ve never had any dreams. Dreams are only for idealists; in actual fact, reality is bitter. Dreams aren’t worth pursuing, because as you’re chasing them, they’ll gradually become murkier, and at the end of the day, you’ll have no choice but to abandon them. For my generation, our chance […]

Learning Love within Community

Normally quiet and serious, Zhai Fu Min was visibly shaken as he stepped into the HealthServe Geylang office on 6 June 2017, the long-anticipated day that he was due to fly back to Xi An, China. As he talked to Willy, one of the HealthServe staff, his tragic story unfolded. The night before, […]

A Tentative Smile Grows

It comes as a bit of a surprise when Sasikumar really takes to the Cajun at HealthServe, drumming a steady beat on it with one hand and bobbing his head to the rhythm. Very quiet and reserved, Sasikumar is a man of few words, and at first, this character carries into his Cajun-playing. […]

Reflections of a Casework Intern

According to a 2015 survey conducted by the Singapore Management University (SMU), over 60% of low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore are “likely to be suffering from serious psychological distress” as they wait for their salary or injury claims to be resolved. Facing great financial stress, some of them may lapse back into behaviours […]

Stuck in Limbo

Injured at the worksite, given no MC, employer refuses to pay for medical treatment, beat up by hired gangsters and forcefully repatriated. Unfortunately this is a common story we hear time and time again from migrant workers. Uddin (name changed) is a 27 year-old Bangladeshi construction worker who has worked in Singapore for […]

Giving is, Indeed, Receiving

Internship Reflection Giving is, indeed, receiving “Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.”  ― Mother Teresa I remember when I first chanced upon this […]

Mr. Wang’s Story

28 September 2015. It was raining heavily that day, recalled Mr. Wang, as he reported to his workplace, a construction site in Punggol. It happened very quickly: an unsupported ladder perched on the wet, slippery floor fell onto Mr. Wang, leaving him unconscious. Waking up each day has been a nightmare for Mr. […]

Touched by the Newfound Care

“I am just very thankful to HealthServe and Mr. Chua, as they have helped me a lot since I started coming here after my injury. The people at my workplace did not care much about me, but HealthServe has helped to drive me to the hospital for my surgery and back to Tai […]

Zhang’s Story

I am a construction worker. Singapore was my dream place to work because in my mind the work here would be safer and more respecting of human rights. But under the leadership of a Chinese boss, all changed to become unreasonable and harsh. On July 7, 2015, my life changed.

Meet an Intern: Jolene

Name: Jolene Quek Jia Min School: Ngee Ann Polytechnic Internship duration: 15 October 2015 to 14 January 2016 Why did you choose to intern at HealthServe? I was inspired by Bernice Wong’s project – “Beyond the Border, Behind the Men” where she went to Bangladesh to film some of the migrant workers and came back to […]

Introduction to HealthServe in Photos

Watch this 2 minute video to get a brief overview of the work we do at HealthServe.