Filipino domestic helper and rugby star hopes to inspire others to take up game in Hong Kong

Looking to use her one day off, 32-year-old single mother Mary Brizuela found rugby and a sense of confidence and acceptance in Hong Kong

Domestic helpers in the city deal with multiple issues while trying to support families back home

Reading Time:3 minutes

Mary Flor "Khaz" Brizuela said rugby has helped her immensely when it comes to feeling accepted in Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong

Published: 11:45am, 1 Oct 2019Updated: 10:47pm, 1 Oct 2019

Every Sunday, Hong Kong’s streets and public spaces fill with the city’s domestic helpers. An estimated 390,000 foreign workers, virtually all female and most from either the Philippines or Indonesia set up camp on bridges, walkways and in parks on their one day off.

Their appearance out in the open draws ire from some and sympathy from others, and while they recently got a government mandated pay rise, issues still remain. High rates of abuse, suicide and poor living conditions with their employers are coupled with low pay and the fact they are forced to leave their home countries and families to earn a living.

Mary Flor Brizuela moved to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper in 2013, and found herself doing what many workers do on their day off. She would set up at a park with her cousin, but soon, Brizuela found she couldn’t take it any more.

“It was just so boring,” said the 32-year-old. “There was nothing to do.”

Brizuela (right) playing touch rugby in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Brizuela left her home city of Bula in the Philippines out of necessity, like most domestic workers. A single mother with two boys under 10 years of age who now live with her parents, she could barely make ends meet as a midwife at a local health centre. After a few years working for two different employers in Hong Kong, everything changed. Brizuela, a lifelong athlete who also plays basketball and table tennis, just to name a few, discovered rugby.