“As a Catholic psychotherapist, I am happy that I can not only transfer psychological knowledge to migrants, but also work together with them to discover the presence of God in the midst of their lives,” Nathalia Widjaja, director of Peduli Kasih Hong Kong [Hong Kong Care and Charity], said. The organisation was set up two years ago to help migrant domestic workers, especially the Indonesian ones, with health issues faced in Hong Kong.
Widjaja is a third generation Indonesian-Chinese. Her grandparents emigrated to East Java and her parents were born in Indonesia. She now lives in Hong Kong with her Chinese husband and an 11-year-old son.
Growing up in Indonesia where Chinese people are a minority, Widjaja shared that she experienced discrimination and even abuse in different ways during her teenage years. She remembered that during the 1980s, no Chinese language was allowed on TV, in advertisements or at schools due to political issues. She underwent a lot of hardship due to her Chinese looks, but her faith in God helped her to overcome the traumas.
“Having the Catholic faith at 13 years old was my first turning point,” she said, adding that her experiences have helped her understand the feelings of the minorities in Hong Kong now.
She later went to Beijing to learn Putonghua. Then she worked in Jinan, Shandong province, and afterwards pursued her master’s degree in educational and developmental psychology.
They were not healed before coming to Hong Kong, probably because they lacked the resources to handle their traumas
In spite of the years studying and working overseas, she regards Indonesia as her home country. “I am proud to be an Indonesian. We are now working hard together for a stronger country,” she said.
As the director of Peduli Kasih Hong Kong and serving as an educational psychologist and counsellor, Widjaja joined the Indonesian Catholic Community six years ago. Initially, she was invited by chaplain, Father Heribertus Hadiarto, to be a catechist.
She said she learned a lot from migrant domestic workers, who showed a lot of spiritual strength in overcoming their problems. “There are many great things to be learned from and much beauty to be seen with their less complicated lives,” she said.
She pointed out that a lot of her clients were traumatised before coming to Hong Kong. A high proportion of them were caused by physical and/or sexual harassment, which they silently endured. “They were not healed before coming to Hong Kong, probably because they lacked the resources to handle their traumas,” she said.
“I think lots of Indonesian migrant domestic workers’ mental health problems are underdiagnosed,” she said.
A study by the International Journal of Social Psychiatry, encompassing around 40 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong who had acute psychiatric disorders, found that on average, Indonesian workers tended to fall ill two years earlier than than their Filipino counterparts. One reason can be that they have less social or medical support. Family problems and marital problems were commonly identified as main stressors, followed by work-related problems. Another cause of anxiety came from language barriers which has made it hard for many to express themselves or understand others.
I think lots of Indonesian migrant domestic workers’ mental health problems are underdiagnosed
In the process of counselling, she listens to the traumatic experiences, and guides her clients to discover their ability to let go of the past and work hard for their goals by applying the acceptance and commitment therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy. “The therapies work very well for them. We work together to modify wounds to wombs for being reborn in spirit,” she said.
She designed a Table of History of My Life by including elements from the theories of developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson, and the history of salvation from the Bible, to help clients discover God’s presence in the midst of their suffering. “Through this table, they will be able to read their internal strength, external support and above all, the presence of God which enables them to modify the wounds to the wombs of rebirth.”
Before setting up the group in 2020, she was a volunteer working with Good Sheperd Sister Lunrita Simanullang who regularly visited hospitals, shelters and asylum seekers. However, in 2018, Sister Simanullang was assigned back to Indonesia.
The birth of Peduli Kasih was inspired by a a desire to continue the ministry of Sister Simanullang and the work of Veritas under the Indonesian Catholic Community which regularly helps the needy. Being a member of Society of St Vincent de Paul since secondary school, Widjaja believed she had to accept the challenge with its spirit to help. “We only try to organise it more systematically and expand it to education and psychological or psychiatric support,” she said.
Many members of Indonesian Catholic Community have joined Peduli Kasih Hong Kong, and the group is also supported by many Muslim and Protestant volunteers.
We should never say No to Jesus. We should have always be ready to carry on the work. We do not only help them, but we bring Jesus in their lives by giving meaning and happiness to their lives. Let’s try our best to be brave and cheerful
Peduli Kasih Hong Kong is a charitable organisation registerd under the Societies Ordinance. Its volunteers may accompany workers to hospitals during medical appointments to help with their communications. It also gives professional counselling through Widjaja. Serious cases will be referred to Doctor Willy Wong Chung-hin, a psychiatrist.
Talks on health issues are also organised regularly. In the coming three months, the group will organise talks on sexual and relationship traumas as well as how to recover and achieve goals in life afterwards.
The group also helps to refer labour cases to non-government organisations and infected workers to shelters.
At the peak of the fifth wave of the pandemic early this year, when confirmed cases reached the tens of thousands, Widjaja and the group’s volunteers, with the support of different parishes, went to various areas in Hong Kong to distribute masks, food and medicines to infected Indonesian workers in home quaratine and without support (Sunday Examiner, March 27).
Widjaja shared that the work of the group is really challenging. There were times she felt everything would break, and tiredness was unbearable, but it was the migrant workers themselves, the Indonesian Catholic Community, Doctor Wong and other good friends who gave her encouragement. She remembers Mother Teresa said: “Nothing is difficult to one who loves. Love demands sacrifice.”
Widjaja said, “We should never say No to Jesus. We should have always be ready to carry on the work. We do not only help them, but we bring Jesus in their lives by giving meaning and happiness to their lives. Let’s try our best to be brave and cheerful.” SE
