Coolamon sponsored 15 workers from the Philippines for a care home — ABC News Australia
In the town of Coolamon in New South Wales, Australia, the local council sponsored 15 migrant workers from the Philippines to support the operation of the municipal aged-care facility Allawah Lodge. The facility is designed for 33 residents, but due to a shortage of local staff, it could not operate at full capacity and might have closed, ABC News Australia reports.
Housing for workers
Coolamon Shire Council General Manager Tony Donohue said that the closure of Allawah Lodge could have resulted in elderly residents of the community having to move to other care homes in the region.
According to Donohue, housing had to be built for the Filipino community because there was no available accommodation in Coolamon. The council invested 750,000 Australian dollars in the building.
Coolamon is a small agricultural town about a 30-minute drive northwest of Wagga Wagga. It has a population of about 2,000 people, while 15 people from the Philippines arrived in the community at the same time before the new workers' arrival.
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Family reunification
One of the Allawah Lodge workers was April Laguros from the Philippine city of Cebu. When moving to Australia, she left her husband and three children in the Philippines. Laguros said she wanted to save money, bring her family to Australia, and provide her children with a better life.
More than two years after her arrival in Coolamon, her husband and three children, aged three, five and 13, moved in with her. Her husband found work in the town as a welder.
Laguros said the community warmly welcomed the Filipino workers. Allawah Lodge residents spoke positively about their work, noting their care, communication, dancing and singing. Donohue said the story of the Laguros family's reunification showed that the council's decision had affected people's lives.
