A few months later, one of those two workers attempted to commit suicide because he hadn’t been paid his wages for 6 months. Attempted suicide was a criminal offence back then. When the police found Murugan, the only number he had with him in his wallet was the little scrap of paper from Dipa. The police called Dipa and asked her if she could post bail for Murugan. Dipa not only did that but she helped Murugan secure his back wages and have the charges dropped against him with support from the Singapore Police. Murugan was back at Dipa’s gate a month later, like a man reborn and full of gratitude. This episode was a powerful lesson for Dipa, one that made her realize that with very little effort, she could make an impactful difference in the life of a worker in need.

To support migrant workers on many fronts IRR identifies needs and provides support to any workers that came to us for help. Our volunteers are all unpaid and many have their own day jobs and families to look after. But we collectively aim to create an ecosystem of support – building teams, tech tools, identifying different avenues of help and channeling resources where they are most needed.