Monday is MomDay at PathFinders! 💛 Today we’re celebrating #WorkingMomsHK🌻: Sri Sudarnani, Migrant Domestic Worker "I am on leave for 3 weeks in Indonesia at the moment. I simply can't hold back my feelings of missing my beloved family. I absolutely need to go home once every 2 years. If there were an employer who does not allow me to go home, I would find another employer who can do so. In my mind, there is always a sense of wanting to be close to my child, and for my child to be close to me. It is essential for children to receive love from both parents. Besides having money and material things, children need to connect and communicate with their parents. My son is at home with his father in Indonesia. His father contributed to the family income by working in the garden and the fields, fishing, and taking up odd jobs. A father's love is not enough. He needs his mother's love too. That's why I need to go home for his sake. Being with my child revives and rejuvenates him. It fulfils my longing for him and strengthens me too. Hong Kong is my place of work and it is only for the short term. But Indonesia is home. It is where my family is. My hope is we can eventually establish our own business back home and be self-sufficient." 🌻Sri was one of the winners of our recent MDW World Photography Day Social Media Challenge. This is her winning image and story.

💛💛 There's no better day than WORLD WALKING DAY (yes, that's today!) to kickstart our birthday celebrations! We are so grateful for everyone who has walked by our side in the past 15 years - you know who you are! Be it in big or small ways, your kindness and generosity have left an imprint in our hearts. We certainly don't feel like walking on sunshine on some days. But knowing that we have the support of individuals, partners and the community simply makes those difficult days all the better. As we start counting the number of sleeps to our big day on 21 Nov - 51 days to be exact! - join us as we embark on a special trip down memory lane! Get ready to be surprised, amused and inspired. 🎉🎉 WATCH THIS SPACE! 🌻🌻 Visual designed by @chok_jai

💛💛 Mid-Autumn Festival is the time of the year when families get together, appreciate the moon and share love. Wishing everyone a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival with your family and loved ones!!🌕🌙 融幼社祝各位中秋節快樂！🥳🥳

🎉🎉 Congratulations to our Child Ambassador @russwebb6 , and the Hong Kong Men's Rugby Sevens Team who have successfully defended their gold medal at the Asian Games last night!! 💛💛 What an amazing achievement! So proud of you all!! 🥇🏈🎉🎉

Today on World Contraception Day, we celebrate our important work of empowering the MDW community with sound knowledge about maternity protection; and in so doing address misconceptions about a MDW pregnancy in Hong Kong. 💛 Together with some of our Ambassadors, we have also been imparting sexual and reproductive healthcare knowledge to the MDW community, which includes accurate use of contraceptives; as well as raising awareness about love scams and healthy relationships. Our work in the past 15 years has helped us understand that these are some of the challenges MDWs face: 🌻Lack of knowledge about suitable contraceptives 🌻Inability to get access to certain contraceptives 🌻Using unauthorised contraceptives (which can be unsafe) 🌻Inequality in their relationships (when they feel pressurised to use or not to use contraceptives during sexual intimacy) Perhaps one of the greatest challenges commonly encountered by MDWs is when contraceptions is forced upon them by their employers. Some employers insist that their MDWs, often against their will, go through regular contraceptive injections and take contraceptive pills; just so they don't fall pregnant during their employment contract. Many MDWs feel powerless to say no, for fear of being fired from their job. We urge MDW employers to instead have respectful, meaningful conversations with their MDWs about their life goals (which includes family planning); and signpost them to accurate resources, offered by NGOs such as Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. 💪 Our partner FPA (www.famplan.org.hk) has a wide range of family planning information in English, Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia. #AllChildrenMatter 🌻 今天是世界避孕日，融幼社一向積極為外傭社群提供有關生育保障的重要知識，藉以消除社會對外傭懷孕的誤解。 我們亦透過機構的大使，向外傭傳授有關性與生殖健康方面的知識，包括採取正確的避孕方法，並提高外傭社群對愛情騙案和兩性關係的認知。 過去15年的工作讓我們更了解外傭面對的各種挑戰： 🌻 缺乏採取適當避孕措施的知識 🌻 沒有獲得避孕藥或用具的途徑 🌻 使用未經許可的避孕藥或用具（可能導致不安全） 🌻 兩性關係中面對不平等（在發生性行為時使用或不使用避孕藥或用具感受到壓力） 外傭常遇到的其中一項挑戰可能是僱主強迫她們避孕。有僱主在違背外傭的意願下，堅持要求外傭定期打避孕針並服用避孕藥，目的是讓她們不會在工作合約生效期間懷孕。外傭往往因擔心被解僱而感到無力拒絕。 我們鼓勵僱主與外傭就外傭的人生目標與規劃（包括生育計劃）進行尊重、有意義的對話，同時向她們提供接收正確資訊的渠道，例如香港家庭計劃指導會 - www.famplan.org.hk 💪 我們的合作伙伴香港家庭計劃指導會提供中英文及印尼語有關家庭計劃的各項重要資訊。 #AllChildrenMatter 🌻

Monday is MomDay at PathFinders! 💛 Today we’re celebrating #WorkingMomsHK🌻: Sofi Husna Hikma, Migrant Domestic Worker "As a migrant worker, one must be strong. We need to be mentally strong to be apart from our family; especially being separated from our children when they are still so young. We constantly long for our family. Looking at their photos eases that longing, and it makes us feel that they are with us. We smile as we get transported to the different memories stored in each photo. The funny ones remind us of the joy of spending time together. Even though it is so easy to make video calls, there's something special about photos. Each photo carries its own unique memories. As time goes by, my child, you have already grown to be a teenager. Ibu (mom) does not expect much. My hope is that you will be a good and responsible person. When you are responsible, you will be able to distinguish the good and the bad in life. Thank God for giving me a small family that's full of love. Although the distance separates us, my wish and prayer is that we will see one another again, and our gathering will be filled with joyful laughter. Love you my family!" 🌻 Sofi is one of the winners of our recent MDW World Photography Day Social Media Challenge. This is her winning image and story. 🌻

💛💛 What a great pleasure to join the Midsummer Night's Cocktail hosted by The Women's Network of @canchamhk last night to celebrate women's achievements in business! It was an incredibly inspiring and motivating evening to connect with and learn from like-minded individuals. Super grateful to have the opportunity for our Board Chair, @webbvi, to share with them what we do at PathFinders to protect and empower the Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) community in Hong Kong!! 🌻🌻🙏🙏

Monday is MomDay at PathFinders! 💛 Today we’re celebrating #WorkingMomsHK🌻: Divina Orpilla Molina, PathFinders' Ambassador, Migrant Domestic Worker 👧🏻 Fiona Gale Molina (20) 👦🏻 Filhager Orpilla Molina (13) "I've been working in Hong Kong for 9 years. I'm married with 2 kids. My elder daughter Fiona is in college majoring in Political Science and my younger son Filhager is in Grade 8. Long distance parenting has never been easy. I miss my children so much. When I am busy with work during the day, I am unable to call them. In the evening, after I finish my work, I can't speak to them as they are already asleep. There are feelings of guilt because I take care of other kids but my kids are raised by someone else. When they are sick, I cannot be by their side. I left my children under the care of my husband and his mother (my mother-in-law) as they are my kin. I trust that they will not forsake my children. When my children were younger, they seldom talked to me - especially when my husband was not around. But as they get older and learn to use cell phones, our communication has improved. With my daughter, we talked about her accomplishments in school and how she maintained her high grades. She also showed her paintings to me. My son is like a typical teenager who remembers me when he wants something. Our relationship is a bit distant because he was only 14 months old when I left him to work abroad. My daughter likes writing. She's a journalist so she always shows me her masterpieces. She likes to eat out at fast food joints and restaurants. She loves fried chicken, pasta and desserts. My son is an easygoing boy. He loves adventures. He loves eating. He loves drawing too and he is one of the cartoonists in his school."

💛💛 At PathFinders, we love working with young people! They are truly a force for systemic and sustainable change driven by their raw passion, fresh perspectives and boundless energy. Today, we're thrilled to have our intern Elirie from @hkuniversity sharing with us what motivated and inspired her the most during her internship at PathFinders! 🌻🌻 "Over the last two months, I had an incredible opportunity to be an intern at PathFinders. I was a part of the Crisis Intervention team and was able to personally witness and learn about the difficulties encountered by MDWs in Hong Kong. I have observed that sometimes people around us may have false perceptions and assumptions about MDWs. As I came in contact with clients and Ambassadors, it allowed me to gain a better understanding of the experiences MDWs faced. Their stories and experiences taught me that all these women are strong independent individuals and have inspired me to help change the perception of MDWs in Hong Kong. I hope one day, Hong Kong as a whole can start acknowledging the hard work of MDWs and empower all women to embrace each other’s diligence." 🌻🌻 Clemente, Elirie Zehlinne M. Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSocSc) The University of Hong Kong

Our Deputy CEO Carmen Lam represented PathFinders to present recommendations at a meeting on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Bill at the Legislative Council yesterday. At PathFinders, we firmly believe that every child deserves a fair start in life, including children born to migrant mothers. Child safeguarding and child protecting, along with proactive prevention measures, are of paramount importance in preventing child abuse from occurring. Watch the video: https://webcast.legco.gov.hk/public/zh-HK?meetingid=M23090002&start=5793&duration=138