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“[You’re] given a chance to upgrade yourself so why not?’”
Meet Mercy Permales, a 41-year-old domestic worker based in Hong Kong who was recently included in Sunday Girls, a documentary series by HK independent filmmaker Sam Keung that aims to show the dreams, hobbies, and stories of Hong Kong’s domestic workers.
Unlike most domestic helpers who hang around Victoria Park on their days off, Permales chooses to remain productive.
In the 11-minute episode, we learn that Mercy doesn’t like wasting her Sundays. “It’s when you get a chance to hang around with friends and do personal things,” she says early on.
And my, the personal things she does! She starts early at 7am to attend church, then she presides over a two-hour Taekwondo session at the local branch of United Philippines Taekwondo (she is a black belter herself).
As though the physical activity isn’t enough, Mercy then spends her afternoons with Radiant Organization of Amiable Drivers in Hong Kong, an organization that encourages female domestic workers to learn how to drive. She is the vice president of the org.
“Once you learn driving, it’s another skill for you,” says Mercy. Knowing how to drive, Mercy says, can put you in a higher pay grade.
Mercy is a BS HRM graduate in the Philippines who chose to become a domestic helper abroad. “Here, I’m working as a domestic helper but I’m paid more than [working as an assistant manager in the Philippines],” she says.
Unlike most of us who consider the Lord’s Day precious because it gives us a chance to rest, Mercy considers it so because it gives her a chance to become a better person, and work on having a better life. “I cannot waste my Sundays,” she says.
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