Meet Neljean and Nancy, the two ladies in the picture above.

They are domestic helpers in Singapore — Neljean, whose actual name is Jeanilyn S. Bermudez, has had her super-inspiring story told a few times before, and has worked here for a hefty 32 years, while Nancy (Narcisa Q. Calusa), has worked here for 18.

We'll start with Neljean's — at the age of 19, the second-oldest of five children, she made the decision to become the main breadwinner of her then-impoverished family by coming to work in Singapore, so that her siblings would be able to go to school.

She was business-minded, and already ran a few small businesses back home including a beauty parlour, a karaoke restaurant and a rice retail company, but with her savings, she attended a micro-business school here, Aidha, where she took courses in computer skills, money management and business communication. She also learned how to plan her business strategies better.

While juggling being a domestic helper in Singapore, she started a junk recycling business, also in the Philippines, complete with several employees, and has since gone on to giving back to society - from 2011, she started running.

And we're not talking about your regular 5 or 8km runs; we're talking entire marathons. And she is raising funds for the non-governmental organisation HOME (Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics) while doing it.

She's 51, did we forget to add?

Despite the lack of publicity and campaigning, Neljean has pushed on to raise about $1500 for HOME, with more than $900 raised last year. Determined to continue her efforts, her latest run will see her challenging the Standard Chartered Marathon, which is pretty gruelling at 42km in length.

She won't be alone however, as now on Neljean's fifth year, she's inspired a fellow domestic worker to join her in her endeavour — Narcisa Q. Calusa, or Nancy .

Nancy, who is 43-years-young, has been working in Singapore since 1998 - and her achievements are every bit as impressive as Neljean's.

Even during her precious days off, Nancy keeps busy with volunteer work, recently volunteering at a home for the disabled and an old folk’s home, and finds time to take skills improvement classes at the HOME Academy.

Oh, don't forget, she also has to train for charity runs, even if it means training on most nights, when most of us would already feel completely spent at the end of the day.

Her motivation? Simply her fellow domestic workers whom she feels strongly for. “I want to run for us, for HOME”, says Nancy.

If you wish to contribute to the fundraising efforts of these disciplined and altruistic ladies, you can check out their GIVEasia crowdfunding page here.

Top image via Run for HOME... Run with Neljean & Nancy's GIVEasia page

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