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She completed her law degree while working as a domestic helper in Singapore
Kolette Lim
Ms Jayanthi Gamage spent her weekends attending virtual lessons and pockets of free time were dedicated to studying. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Ms Jayanthi Gamage was at work in August 2023 when an e-mail from the University of London arrived in her inbox. It included the word “PASS”, which marked the end of her seven-year journey to complete a law degree and a dream come true for the then domestic helper.
Describing the 43-year-old Sri Lankan’s journey as a “long” one makes light of it – it spanned two countries thousands of kilometres apart, and saw her juggling her studies over several years while working as a domestic helper in Singapore.
A job as a helper here earned her twice as much as her previous job as an audit assistant in Sri Lanka did, Ms Gamage told The Straits Times. So three years after starting her law course, she decided to leave the comforts of home in 2019 to fund her degree.
She quashed any qualms of venturing to a foreign country for the first time, as she was determined to make her childhood dream come true. Law is a calling, said Ms Gamage, who failed the entrance exam to Sri Lanka Law College 10 consecutive times from 2000.
“It was a very long journey and took a lot of hard work,” Ms Gamage, now a supervisor at a cleaning company, told ST. “My emotions can’t be put into words but now I know when there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Challenges in a foreign land
Ms Gamage burnt the midnight oil aplenty and rarely had time for herself. She spent her weekends attending virtual lessons and pockets of free time were dedicated to poring over study material.
“I didn’t buy any lipstick or make-up – none of those things. Every dollar was saved for my degree,” she said.
Even during tough times, Ms Gamage always found a silver lining. “I looked at everything as a new learning experience,” she said. “I thought I probably felt things were difficult because I had never faced such situations before.”
But the Sri Lankan, who described herself as “someone who doesn’t cry a lot”, had crumbled in moments she longed to reunite with her parents.
Ms Gamage’s father, a driver, and her mother, a homemaker, were always supportive despite being “normal people”. “Even though they didn’t have a good education themselves, they knew the value of education.”
She was looking forward to reuniting with her family after her first employment contract expired in 2021. But Covid-19 hit, and borders shut, leaving Ms Gamage unable to return home.
That was her “lowest point”, she said. “I missed them a lot. I felt stuck, I feared for my parents and their health... I had many of these thoughts.”
Ms Gamage was also running a race against time. She had to complete her degree in eight years and had left Sri Lanka with seven modules to finish.
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25-Apr 2024 Thursday
12:57 PM (10 days ago)
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