We made it! At midnight on 9 September, our crowdfunder had raised £5,564for The Voice of Domestic Workers. With £5,000 from our very generous anonymous donor, that makes an amazing £10,564. (If anyone would like to donate now, the crowdfunder will still be live after the deadline, though there won’t be rewards).
Marissa Begonia, founder of VoDW, says, “I would like to express my warmest gratitude to Haringey Welcome and the music video and all the people who supported the HW crowdfunding for The Voice of Domestic Workers. This means we can continue to provide for the needs of migrant domestic workers who have been the casualty during the covid19 pandemic. Our Work (as Domestic Workers) is to love and care for families. Thank you for taking care and loving us too.”
The funds we’ve raised will help provide financial support for food, housing and travel to work, counselling, and IT and ESOL classes for the women who’ve been hard hit by the pandemic.
So thanks to all the people who’ve made this happen:
– First and foremost, of course, to all the donors whose gifts, small and large, brought us to this great total.
– To the contributors to the Adversity Rhyme music video: Lucy Nabijou for the original song; the musicians Kayvon Nabijou, Paula Rue, Sanaa Wahbah, Rachel Beckles Willson and Alia Alzougbi; Nahla Mawass for the Arabic translation; David Pitt for the cover art; Tom Proctor for video editing; and Forensic Architecture/Amel El Zakout, Bullion Productions for donated video footage.
– To the providers of donor rewards: Living Under One Sun for jars of Tottenham honey and meals for two; Ruth Valentine for signed copies of A Grenfell Alphabet.
– To all the people who support Haringey Welcome.
– And of course to Marissa Delloro Begonia and all the brave women, domestic workers and members of VoDW, who contributed their time, experiences and stories.
VoDW currently has a petition to parliament, asking for a return to the system where domestic workers could renew their visas (currently limited to six months) and regularise their status here. If you’ve supported our crowdfunder, you might also like to sign.