Dipa became a migrant worker champion by accident, you could say. On a wet afternoon in 2014, while driving her son to tennis practice, she passed a construction site where a group of workers was dressed in waste bags as raincoats. A supervisor, with an umbrella, stood in a covered area some distance away. The associate general counsel for telco Singtel, who is 46 years old, was furious.
She realised it was a long shot, but she called the employer and threatened to report the workers to the authorities, the press, and social media unless they were provided with suitable rain gear. She remembers the phone being slammed down on her. However, it appears that her message was received. When it rained the next day, Dipa returned to the same location and noticed that the workers had been outfitted in raincoats, caps, and boots. It was a minor triumph, but it demonstrated that her voice had a positive impact.
She doesn’t simply talk about it; she does something about it.
Dipa has always had a strong sense of justice, having grown up in Bangalore, India. She went to slums and taught English to the residents, as well as volunteered at an animal rescue. She eventually went on to study law in order to be able to assist others in resolving their issues. Even after she went to Singapore for work in 1995, her desire to speak up remained. She wrote a lengthy letter to The Straits Times after learning that trees in a heritage area were to be taken down, pleading with authorities to reconsider their decision.
However, the 2013 riots in Little India opened her eyes to a larger issue. “Foreign workers were already a marginalized community in Singapore, but when these riots happened, I felt like they became even more maligned. Though it was just a few who rioted, the whole community was painted with the same brush,” says Dipa.
No one was speaking up for these foreign workers, unlike domestic assistants, who she felt had substantial social support groups.
Getting the basics right!
So, in 2015, she founded “It’s Raining Raincoats”, a movement that encourages people to carry a raincoat with them at all times and offer it to migrant workers they see. It has since grown beyond ensuring that personnel is properly equipped for inclement weather. Dipa currently collaborates with roughly 25 Starbucks locations to deliver leftover food to about 500 migrant workers every week, rather than having the things thrown away. In addition to meeting these basic necessities, Dipa raises funds to purchase prepaid data cards so that workers can phone home, especially during special events such as Deepavali. She spent $10,000 on these cards last year.“Just as we have emotional needs, they’re no different,” says Dipa.
It’s Raining Raincoats isn’t going anywhere. Dipa has lately added social activities to the mix, such as yoga sessions at migrant workers’ recreation centers in various areas, cricket matches to allow these workers to relax and have fun, and potluck sessions to enable volunteers to engage with the workers over a meal. Its Raining Raincoats has taken on a new meaning for Dipa. “It’s not only something physical but also protection against harsh forces,” she says, adding that she hopes her work can normalise interactions between Singaporeans and migrant workers. Volunteer Anchal Jain, 46, says, “Dipa shows us there are simple solutions to the issues we see, but most of us don’t step out of our comfort zone. People do want to help, but there’s the awkwardness and not knowing how to go about doing it.”
Approximately 8,000 raincoats and 5,000 water bottles have been supplied to migrant workers in Singapore during the last three years. Its Raining Raincoats was selected the Kampong Spirit winner at the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards for their efforts to unite the community.
