Key Info
LOCATION
DATE & TIMENovember 3, 2024 - December 31, 2025 3:09 pm
About
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The CritiCare Fund for Migrant Workers is hosted on: https://events.rayofhope.sg/events/criticare-fund-for-migrant-workers/
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To verify that Ray of Hope is a Registered Charity (UEN: 201229333H), Institution of Public Character (IPC) and full member of National Council of Social Service, please visit https://www.charities.gov.sg/ and view the directory of NCSS members.
Donations collected are held by Ray of Hope and will only be disbursed when there are eligible applicants at an amount decided by the community-led council.
We are raising $410,500 to establish Singapore’s first community fund for migrant workers with critical illnesses
This fund will reduce inequalities in crowdfunding and increase the chances of any worker in need receiving assistance, regardless of their popularity or connections. Workers could use the funds received for their medical treatment or as income replacement for their family.
Donation Tiers
| Item | Price | Cart |
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| $50 Donation
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| $100 Donation
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| $200 Donation
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| $500 Donation
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$500 |
Others
The Issue
Migrant workers with critical illnesses cannot afford high treatment costs
Most employers often terminate their work permit and send them home to countries with inadequate social welfare systems. There, these migrant workers face crushing medical expenses and / or substantial loans owed to banks for the employment agent fees they paid to come to Singapore, in addition to the stress / guilt of no longer being able to provide for their family.
While their mandatory medical insurance does cover inpatient treatment for critical illness, it does have three limitations
Migrant CMP workers in Singapore have:
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Work Injury Compensation Insurance (WICA) – Pays between S$45,000 – $225,000 for work-related injuries.
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Mandatory Medical Insurance – Purchased by employer to cover inpatient care and day surgery for non-work related injuries with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000.
While domestic workers in Singapore have:
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Personal Accident Insurance – Covers at least $60,000 per year for unexpected incidents resulting in permanent disability or death.
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Mandatory Medical Insurance – Purchased by employer to cover inpatient care and day surgery for non-work related injuries with an annual claim limit of at least $60,000.
However, despite this, these mandatory medical insurance have three limitations:
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The minimum claim limit of $60,000 might not be sufficient to over the treatment costs of late-stage critical illnesses and it is reasonable to assume that most employers would, for cost reasons, choose the minimum required $60,000 claim limit.
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The mandated requirements do not cover outpatient costs (e.g. chemotherapy, medication, etc), only inpatient expenses
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It also does not cover overseas treatment costs if workers are sent home, as often is the case when they are diagnosed with a critical illness
Current Avenues of Support
From what we can find, migrant workers have four avenues of support when they are diagnosed with critical illnesses but each is limited in their own way
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Care4Migrant Workers Insurance for Male CMP workers – Launched by in 2020 as Singapore’s first low-cost group term life insurance for male migrant workers. For $9 per year, it covers 37 critical illnesses, offering a lump-sum payout up to $10,000. However, this $10,000 payout falls short of the estimated treatment costs listed above and does not cover the 294,800 domestic workers in Singapore.
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Crowdfunding Campaigns – Launched by non-profit groups such as Migrant Mutual Aid and ItsRainingRaincoats and kind-hearted employers. However, the success of such campaigns is dependent on whether the worker has a media-worthy story or personal networks, which a majority do not have.
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Emergency Financial Assistance – Male migrant workers in distress can apply for assistance under MWC’s Migrant Workers Assistance Fund. Female migrant domestic workers can apply for the Domestic Employees Welfare Fund by NTUC for medical support and subsistence allowances, amongst others. However, this assistance is on a case-by-case basis and might be insufficient to cover the financial needs of workers facing critical illnesses.
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Kind-Hearted Employers Who Foot the Bill – We have seen stories in the media of employers of domestic workers who paid over $24,000 for chemotherapy sessions in Singapore or $28,000 for breast cancer surgery in Manila. However, this could induce significant financial stress on employers
Photo Credit: Shawnanggg
Our Solution
We are raising $410,500 to establish Singapore’s first community fund for migrant workers with critical illnesses
This fund will reduce inequalities in crowdfunding and increase the chances of any worker in need receiving assistance, regardless of their popularity or connections. Workers could use the funds received for their medical treatment or as income replacement for their family. It will include the following components:
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A community led-council – comprising doctors, civil society, employers, govt reps, that decides disbursement guidelines to ensure decisions are made by people with deep insight into the lives of migrant workers.
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Administered by Ray of Hope – an Institute of Public Character (IPC) known for their expertise in setting up crowdfunding campaigns and adhering to governance standards.
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Collection of data on incidence of critical illnesses in migrant workers – which would aid future insurance products and policy planning efforts.
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Open to application all-year round –We will organize additional fundraising drives when funds start running low.
In the long-term, we believe that systemic solutions such as the following are required:
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Consider a national MediFund equivalent for migrant workers where contributions to premiums can be shared
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Create customized financial products for low-wage migrant workers, with a savings component that is tied to insurance. This would be helpful in attracting low-wage migrant workers who may see insurance as an unnecessary expense.
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Raise limits of coverage in mandatory insurance to be closer to prevailing cost benchmarks and expand into outpatient costs
The CritiCare Fund for Migrant Workers aims to plug immediate gaps while advocating for these systemic changes.
Top Campaigns Leaderboard
Peer to Peer Campaigns
Beyond donating, you can amplify your impact by mobilizing your friends and family to donate to help migrant workers – the people who have sacrificed years away from their families to build our infrastructure and care for our children.
Here are some campaigns started by others to help raise more funds. Click on the button below to create your own campaign and start rallying your friends for a good cause! 🙂
FAQ
We (Anthea, En, Vincent and Dhanesh) are a group of friends who have helped migrant and domestic workers with non work-related critical illnesses, such as cancer, to set up crowdfunding campaigns for their treatment and living expenses. Through this work, we have witnessed the heartbreaking struggles of these low-wage workers who cannot afford the high medical costs in Singapore or back home, despite years of hard work.
We think this is a complex problem that has remained stuck because there are multiple stakeholders with different constraints that make it difficult to answer the question: “who pays?”
Here is our hypothesis of the perspectives that these stakeholders may have:
- Employers: May be hesitant to pay because they are already mandated to pay for medical insurance and a monthly levy. They may prefer for this levy to be used to subsidise insurance premiums
- Insurers: Little market incentive to provide subsidised premiums or expanded coverage for migrant workers with critical illnesses
- Migrant Workers: Workers who earn low-wages and have recruitment debt may be unable / unwilling to see the value of insurance and pay for it, even if the premium amount is small
- Government: Juggling the trade-offs between allocating resources to Singaporeans and migrant workers
- Government-Linked NGOs Providing Financial Assistance: May be restricted by their guidelines to pay out a fixed amount for specific situations that may not include treatment for critical illnesses
- General Public: May not be willing to accept higher costs of hiring domestic workers or higher housing prices. May feel that taxpayer monies should go to Singaporeans and not foreigners.
This would enable us to support at least 20 migrant workers over two years, providing them with money they can use to either seek treatment or use as income replacement for their family.
A small portion of the fund will also cover the costs of a Secretariat team to assess, evaluate and prepare the relevant documents for the community-led council’s consideration.
From our past conversations with the Migrant Workers Centre and non-profit groups supporting migrant workers, we estimate to receive around 10 cases per year. Over time, we will be better able to gauge the demand for such funds and make better predictions for future fundraising target amounts.
All funds raised will be strictly held and administered by Ray of Hope, a registered charity in Singapore with Institute of Public Character (IPC) status, that is audited annually by the office of the Commissioner of Charities.
Since their founding in 2012, Ray of Hope has raised over $10M from 60,000 donors that have benefitted 1,000 beneficiaries.
The process for fund disbursement will happen in 3 phases:
- Migrant workers in need will be assessed by a Secretariat Team comprising social workers and people trained in needs assessment. They will be asked to share relevant medical documents for us to conduct due diligence on their condition.
- The Secretariat Team will compile their assessment into a report and a recommended fund disbursement amount. This report and recommendation will be shared at a monthly-meeting of the community-led council.
- The community-led council provides their input into the due diligence conducted and the recommended fund disbursement amount, deciding on the final amount to be disbursed to the migrant worker.
- Once confirmed, Ray of Hope’s team will disburse the confirmed amount to the migrant worker – either in installments or in a lump-sum payment, depending on the circumstances.
The current members on our community-led Council are:
- Tan En, General Manager, Ray of Hope
- Dr Alicia Altorfer-Ong, Deputy General Manager, Ray of Hope
- Anthea Ong, Former Nominated Member of Parliament
- Dr Ng Kok Hoe, President, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics
- Stacey Choe, Co-Founder, Real Impact Advisors
- David Bensadon, Managing Director, We Are Caring
- Dr Sudesna Roy Chowdhury, Medical Doctor
- Dr Muntasir Mannan Choudhury, Medical Doctor
Please feel free to reach out to us! We are happy to answer any additional questions or clarify any details. You can write to us at: mwsgcriticarefund@gmail.com or use the contact form on this website.