SG Woman Postpones House Renovation To Pay RM280,000 For Her Housekeeper's Treatment
The domestic helper from India fell ill and was hospitalised on 14 January.
By Sadho Ram — 19 Jan 2024, 05:07 PM — Updated 10 months ago
Jomhao Veinthutheng, a 26-year-old Indian woman, arrived in Singapore filled with dreams for a brighter future. But fate had different plans as a sudden stroke has now left her hospitalised.
Jomhao came to Singapore in January last year to work as a domestic helper for 36-year-old Sanjani Basdeo's family. Her responsibilities included taking care of Sanjani's elderly mother and her brother, who suffers from traumatic brain injuries due to an accident.
However, Jomhao suddenly fell ill towards the end of December last year.
According to China Press, on 28 December, Jomhao had taken Sanjani's brother to a hospital for his medical appointment when she experienced an intense headache and severe vomiting.
She first went to a clinic and received prescribed medication. However, when her symptoms failed to improve, Sanjani advised her to seek help at the National University Hospital (NUH) emergency department, reported Mothership.
"There, they did a CT scan and found abnormalities in her brain," the employer recalled.
A series of tests, including MRIs, CT scans, and even two lumbar punctures, followed. Finally, amidst the whirring machines, the answer emerged: Jomhao was diagnosed with inflammation and bleeding in her brain.
Jomhao suffered a stroke on 13 January and underwent emergency surgery to relieve the pressure build-up in her brain on 14 January, her employer said in an update on a fund-raising campaign page.
Since Jomhao's medical insurance is inadequate to cover her ongoing treatment, Sanjani has since launched an online crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for medical expenses, estimated to be around RM300,000
"We are currently crowdfunding online. If we really cannot raise enough money, we will have to postpone the renovation plans [for our] new home and use the money to pay for Jomhao's medical expenses first," she told Singapore's largest Chinese-language newspaper, Lianhe Zaobao.
Having sought help from the Indian Embassy in Singapore, but with no assistance available, she opted to raise money through the fundraising platform Go Get Funding, where Sanjani has been providing regular updates.
Sanjani has so far raised 24% of her target amount of SGD150,000 (approximately RM525,000).
"After she fell ill, the [maid] agency asked me to send her [back to India], but I was unwilling to do so because the environment and medical standards there are not as good as Singapore," Sanjani said.
The employer has also taken back-to-back leaves to attend to her helper while also caring for her mother and brother
Describing Jomhao as a member of her family, Sanjani expressed admiration for her helper, who regularly sent significant amounts of money, sometimes her entire salary, back home to her family.
"I would tell her that she needs to keep some money for herself. And she would say 'Yeah, just let me help [my family] build a home and send [my] siblings to school'," Sanjani shared with Mothership, adding that it takes a lot to think for others, to be so empathetic and compassionate towards your family.
And to be responsible at such a young age... I just found it very beautiful.
In Sanjani's latest update on 16 January, she shared that Jomhao is responding positively to the surgery and was able to open her eyes
"She is able to open her eyes and follow basic commands. The new bill at NUH is SGD24,966 (approximately RM87,846). I paid SGD2,000 as a deposit and will continue updates on payments," read the update.
