Caritas Macau has launched an Easter campaign to collect essential items for the infants of non-resident workers' (NRWs) such as infant formula and diapers, the Catholic social service organisation has announced.
Caritas Macau Secretary General Paul Pun Chi Meng told the local media last week that The International School of Macau (TIS) campus in Taipa is one of the campaign's collection points. Pun said the collection drive aimed to help jobless NRW families with very young children stranded in Macau because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to COVID-19-related travel curbs, many unemployed NRWs are unable to leave Macau. Thousands of NRWs have been laid off since early last year when the novel coronavirus pandemic began to hit the local economy, the gaming, hospitality and tourism sectors in particular.
According to official statistics, Macau had 175,196 NRWs at the end of February. The figure included 111,477 mainland Chinese, 30,593 Filipinos and 12,194 Vietnamese.
NRWs - informally known as "blue card holders" - do not have the right of abode in Macau.
