Two Sundays every month, Jane Sucaldito Supapo dons a red polo shirt and heads towards Singapore's shopping district.
But unlike many of her compatriots, she shuns the malls and makes her way to the campus of an international school.
Ms Sucaldito teaches a caregivers' course for domestic workers organised by migrant rights group the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
Nearly 80 women from the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka learn to communicate with patients and read vital signs. With varying levels of English proficiency, the class is slow and progresses through a painstaking yet collaborative process, where each student is supported and none left behind. Foreign maids and nannies are an important base of Singapore's workforce. They fill a range of domestic and caregiving roles, allowing Singaporeans -- particularly women -- to enter the workforce in greater numbers. The Ministry of Manpower reported 222,500 foreign domestic workers as of Dec 2014.
Conditions are not ideal. The women are legally required to live in their employer's homes. Despite a law mandating weekly rest days, many still do not receive any time off. Domestic workers are vulnerable to exploitation, earn low salaries and work long hours.
Ms Sucaldito has been with three families since coming to the country. Her situation has gradually improved, and her current employer treats her with respect.
Her salary has also increased to 650 Singapore dollars (16,650 baht) per month, allowing her to better support her family back home.
She pays for a nephew's primary education, as well as her sister's high school fees and putting her 18-year-old daughter through university. Once a year, she buys all the school supplies for eight nephews and nieces.
Joining the Home Academy gave her a meaningful way to spend her days off, giving her new skills and knowledge related to health, hygiene and first aid. She gained hands-on experience through a short stint at a nursing home, and has found a community of like-minded friends.
"I want to use my day off wisely," she says, avoiding expensive shops and malls to save money for her family and future.
She plans to continue using the new skills when she goes back to the Philippines -- after earning enough in Singapore to finally build a house.
"I already bought a lot, but no house yet," she says. "I will build a house after my daughter graduates from university."
The Home Academy also offers courses in cosmetology, cooking, aromatherapy and dressmaking. Each course emphasises skills development that will benefit workers beyond their current employment in Singapore.
The caregivers' course costs about 180 US dollars (6,488 baht) for a six-month programme, plus the cost of equipment such as stethoscopes. More and more foreign women are taking the opportunity to learn while in Singapore.
It is a goal close to the heart of Myrna Buta, a coordinators at the academy. Despite having qualifications in accountancy and cosmetology, she found it difficult to find work in the Philippines, and has been a domestic worker in Singapore for the past 12 years.
She joined Home Academy in its first year in 2009, when there were only 100 students. She taught a course in cosmetology to 10 participants. Now, the academy graduates 2,000 students per year across a range of courses. Ms Buta offers courses in basic and advanced cosmetology.
Coordinating and teaching require her to give up her free Sundays, but says she is motivated by the opportunity to help other workers work towards future goals. "We are not here to be domestic helpers our whole lives," she says. "We need to encourage domestic workers to upgrade themselves, to try not to waste time while they are here. This is not the life we want for the future; that's my motto for the course."