On Sunday, 6 February, we officially inaugurated our first satellite campus at the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST) Hub, also to be referred to as Aidha @ FAST Hub. ​​The in-person ceremony was graced by Aidha CEO, Jacqueline Loh and our special guests from FAST, FAST President Mr Lim Fang Sung, Chairperson of FAST’s Training & Development Committee Ms Helen Tan, Chief Executive Director Mr William Chew, and several members of the management team.

Every year on 8 March, International Women’s Day, the world reflects on the progress made towards gender equality and celebrates the achievements and strengths of women everywhere. This year, throughout the month of March, we held a special Learning Fest with an exciting array of free activities and classes for all FDWs to learn skills to thrive personally and financially! Working with partners, our goal is to support more women to build their knowledge and skills to prepare for a more sustainable future and working together we managed to host 8 learning sessions over the month!

Written by Cathy Heeley

October is always a special month at Aidha as we celebrate the graduation of our students from Modules 2 and 3. These students have completed at least 12 months of financial education at Aidha and worked hard to complete their own personal financial plans and business plans. 

For over a decade Aidha has held a formal ceremony in a concert hall with an audience, special guests, presentations, dancing and lots of hugs. But that wouldn’t be possible this year. 

How could we make Graduation Day a truly special occasion to reflect the fantastic achievements of our students in challenging times, an event to celebrate their learning journey and encourage and inspire them for the future?

Aidha’s much-awaited signature event, the 4th edition of Unspoken Life Photography Exhibition was launched virtually on 4th October 2020. For the first time ever, we brought our exhibition online by displaying winning photographs in a virtual gallery. The online exhibition is curated by local photography zine, Your Local News Stand. Despite the many challenges this year, we received almost 200 amazing submissions of varying photography styles and were very impressed with the compelling stories behind each photo. 

Unspoken Life seeks to delve beneath the labels and unfurl the many selves of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) often unseen by Singapore society. The virtual exhibition also celebrates the strength, courage and creativity of foreign domestic workers – who are also mothers, sisters, daughters and artists – here seeking a brighter future for themselves and their families. 

At our last Graduation, we were so proud to witness more than 140 graduating students receive their certificates in the presence of their employers and employers’ families, along with the Aidha community of fellow students, volunteers and supporters.