FDWs Now Have a New Gathering Site in Former Raffles Girls’ School Which is Open Every Sunday

By
Rachel Leong
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If you’ve decided to take a nice stroll in the city on a weekend to soak in the atas vibes at Orchard Road, you might have seen many foreign domestic workers (FDWs) enjoying their day at Lucky Plaza.

And while we know that certain spots are popular hangouts amongst the FDW community, new gathering sites for them have been introduced.

One of these sites may surprise you: it’s the former Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) compound at Anderson Road.

It’s a bit unexpected, right? Who would ever want to return to school? (Answer: definitely not the writer; no more A-Levels hell, please).

FDWs Now Have a New Gathering Site in Former Raffles Girls’ School Which is Open Every Sunday

This initiative comes as a joint effort between the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) and several government agencies, including the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). It was piloted at the old RGS campus located at 20 Anderson Road.

The main aim of this programme is to set up alternative gathering spots for maids. Mr Shamsul Kamar, CDE’s executive director, cited the need to “decentralise large groups of maids from popular hangout spots such as Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza due to COVID-19.”

“They were concerned that the places where they normally congregate… are not so safe as they are congested with so many people,” he added.

This move comes after restricted entry to Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza in August 2020 to better enforce safe management measures. Safety concerns have also been raised after a car crash at Lucky Plaza in December 2019 killed two maids.

Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang visited the site yesterday (7 Mar) afternoon. She said that while the initiative was still in its pilot phase, its expansion was already being planned with more sites being sourced for.

“We’ve been planning together with CDE for several months to provide additional safe gathering for foreign domestic workers,” she commented.

“Because of the pandemic, several of the usual hangouts for the foreign domestic workers on their rest days have been affected and also are subject to safe distancing measures.”

Amphitheatre @ 20 Anderson Road

Dubbed Amphitheatre @ 20 Anderson Road, the site has been open since 21 February, and will remain open every Sunday until the end of June.

If your brain is automatically digging out memories of your old school days, and you’re imagining the FDWs seated in classrooms doing algebra together, stop projecting.

Despite them gathering in a school, they are most definitely not being subjected to Mother Tongue and Science lessons. Lucky them.

The CDE has partnered with various organisations to provide a variety of services and activities for the FDWs. Some fun activities include tote bag painting, Zumba dancing, handicraft activities, and art jamming. They can also buy food, drinks, and clothes there.

For those seeking to enrich their minds (they are in a school, after all?), there are educational activities for FDWs to better hone their skills. Examples include a booth set up by the National Trades Union Congress’ LearningHub which teaches both English and basic computer skills.

For FDWs facing issues, there is a CDE booth where workers can flag any employment issues. There are also telecommunication and remittance services.

Ah, I wish school was like this for me.

But in case you want to relive your school days now, no, you’re not allowed to crash RGS. Currently, Amphitheatre @ 20 Anderson Road is only open to FDWs, so sadly, your only memory of school will have to be of gruelling exams and not Zumba.

FDWs are issued a blue token as an extra safety measure in addition to existing safe distancing measures at the premise. Dozens of CDE volunteers were present yesterday afternoon to both engage and ensure the compliance of some 300 FDWs with safe distancing measures.

And it seems like the FDWs are enjoying being at school (well, that makes one of us). Some have expressed strong support for the initiative, which provides a safe space for maids. The old RGS campus has been viewed by FDWs as a comfortable, convenient and secure shelter.

While maids could not see their friends as easily as before the pandemic, they were happy to have more freedom to interact at the Anderson site.

A Brief Crash Course on the History of RGS’ Campuses

For those unfamiliar with RGS (or if you’re just a history nerd), here’s a little bit about its history and iconic campuses.

It first began at Bras Basah Road on 4 Mar 1844 as a one-room department in the boys’ school Raffles Institution (RI).

The school had humble beginnings with a group of eight women who were committed to rescuing orphans and providing them with care and protection via education (a timely commemoration of International Women’s Day!).

It was officially established in 1879 and is widely known today as a top girls’ school throughout the nation.

In 1928, as RGS saw an increase in enrolment, it moved to Queen Street. By this time, it had become a full-fledged girls’ school and stopped admitting boys to the lower and middle forms, which had been a practice since 1882.

The 2021 pilot initiative isn’t the first time that RGS has seen their campus being used: the Queen Street campus was used by the Japanese Military Police during the years of the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945).

In January 1959, RGS separated its primary and secondary sections. The latter moved to 20 Anderson Road, while the former was renamed Raffles Girls’ Primary School (RGPS) and remained at Queen Street till 1979 when it moved to Holland Grove Road.

In 2012, RGS announced a new campus to be built by 2019; it was to be situated along Braddell Road opposite its brother school, RI. A model of the new campus design was unveiled in 2017, and RGS finally made this big move on 21 October 2019.

And so, the premises of 20 Anderson Road where RGS once proudly stood have still remained a fond memory for many of the alumni, including Ms Gan.

Ms Gan, an RGS alumnus herself, was pleased that “[they] could make good use of the school now that it’s vacant.” She thought it a “worthy use of the old site of her alma mater”, and reminisced how the place “brought back memories”.

To read more about this new initiative, click here or here.

Feature Image: Google Maps

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Rachel Leong
Email: [email protected]