maid in hk

Sundays are special days in HK. A lot of people work 6 days a week here, Sunday being their only day off, so therefore Sundays are special and also regarded as the family day – because that’s the only day you have with the family.

A lot of people also have maids here in HK. And they also work 6 days a week. And after a week on their feet looking after family they work for, I’m sure the Sunday is a very welcome break. Most maids around here come from the Philippines and support their families back home with the money they make here and can usually only afford a trip home once every or every second year... (It is estimated that around 170 000 Philipino-maids work in HK). They are usually live-in maids as well, meaning that they don’t have a home of their own, but are granted a small room in the house they work in.

“So far so good”, but here comes the twist…
Sundays are family day remember, meaning Sundays are only for family, and if you’re a maid you’re not family…, so of course you’re not welcome in the house where you live – you’re home in HK… And neither are your fellow maid friends where they live… So if you still want to relax and meet up with your friends on your only day off, the only place you can go are the streets of HK…

Many streets, bridges and parks in the centre of HK are absolutely full with girls that have nowhere else to go on Sundays. They spend their whole day there, sitting on the card board boxes and blankets they bring with them, playing cards, talking, laughing, sleeping and eating. And when the sun has set and the day has gone, they are allowed to return to the house they live in. Only to dream and look forward to their next Sunday off (hopefully it doesn’t rain then…) and to when they have saved up so much money that they actually can afford to go home to visit their real home…