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JAKARTA<\/span> \u2013 On weekends, the walkways outside Singapore\u2019s Lucky Plaza resemble a vibrant enclave as migrant domestic workers gather on their only day off.<\/p>\n At the popular hangout for workers from Indonesia and other countries, women sit cross-legged on flattened cardboard sheets, unpacking rice packets and fried snacks from plastic containers. Indonesian pop songs drift softly from mobile phones.<\/p>\n For many Singaporeans, it is a familiar scene and part of the rhythm of bustling Orchard Road. But for 17-year-old Nathan Alexandro Tjhe, an Indonesian student studying in Singapore, it was impossible to look away.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first moved to Singapore, I realised many Indonesian migrant workers gathered there every Sunday,\u201d Nathan, who is from Pontianak in West Kalimantan, told The Straits Times.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of them sent most of their salaries back home, so they had very little left for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Singapore relies heavily on migrant domestic workers, with about 316,900 employed as at December 2025, according to the Ministry of Manpower. They come from countries including Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar.<\/p>\n Much of their salaries go towards their children\u2019s schooling, household expenses, or savings for a home back in their countries.<\/p>\n Nathan first encountered that reality in his own home.<\/p>\n His family moved him and his brother to Singapore in late 2021, where he enrolled in ACS (International) in Holland Village.<\/p>\n One evening in 2025, Nathan noticed his Indonesian domestic helper crying quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cShe told me her son in Java was having problems in school and had fallen into bad company\u201d, he recalled. \u201cShe felt guilty because she was far away and could not guide him properly.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman had been sending nearly all her salary home to support her family and other relatives.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes she wanted to buy small things for herself or her child, like a keychain or jacket,\u201d Nathan said. \u201cBut she did not have enough money left.\u201d<\/p>\n He could not look away from that either.<\/p>\n Nathan began speaking more regularly with Indonesian workers and realised many felt pressure to support their extended families because relatives often assumed anyone working abroad was financially secure.<\/p>\n Soon after, he and some schoolmates started the Peduli Initiative to support Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Singapore.<\/p>\n At first, the obstacles seemed insurmountable for a teenager just trying to do something kind.<\/p>\n Nathan e-mailed the Indonesian embassy in Singapore and waited weeks without a reply. He also contacted Indonesian embassies in other countries. Eventually, the embassy in Madrid forwarded his message back to Singapore, which prompted the embassy to respond.<\/p>\n With its guidance, Nathan and his schoolmates focused on fundraising. Together with embassy officials, they identified simple items many workers rarely bought for themselves: toiletries, snacks and basic comforts from home such as noodles and biscuits.<\/p>\n The students then collected second-hand tumblers, umbrellas, clothes and electronics from classmates and teachers. Some even donated old iPhones. The items were resold on online marketplace Carousell, raising between $1,000 and $2,000 in four months.<\/p>\n In August 2025, the group organised a gathering near Singapore\u2019s National Stadium attended by around 100 Indonesian domestic workers.<\/p>\n The women received care packages filled with Indomie instant noodles, biscuits, toothpaste, soap, sanitary products and Tolak Angin herbal medicine.<\/p>\n