It’s 'Motherless Day' for kids of Pinay caregivers

MANILA, Philippines - For ten years now, Gina Miranda’s children in the Philippines has been motherless during Mothers Day. A live-in caregiver since 1999, Gina had always spent the May 10 celebrations alone in Canada. “I don’t know when I will celebrate Mother’s Day again with my children because of the huge backlog of immigration applications," she said. Gina is among the thousands of Filipino mothers who have to endure the coming Mothers Day celebration without their family since being employed under Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program. Women under Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program are not allowed to bring their families with them when they come to work there, explained advocacy group Siklab-British Columbia. For years, Siklab and other Canada-based OFW groups like National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, have been campaigning against the policy, which they described as anti-family. [See: Group scores Canada’s live-in caregiver program] Almost 100,000 Filipino women have entered Canada as live-in caregivers, performing childcare, elderly care and other domestic duties in the homes of middle and upper-class Canadians. To highlight these issues, the two groups would hold a press conference on Friday (May 8) at 10 a.m. at the Grassroots Women office at 1115B East Hastings at Glen Drive in Canada. - Mark Ubalde, GMANews.TV