Being a nanny is not an easy job. Apart from chores, you have to look after the children of your employers and at the same time, comply to whatever demands or orders they have. Such was the case of this Filipina nanny in Kuwait who is identified as Nanay Viola.
According to Definitely Filipino, she entered the profession when her husband died from Cancer in 1985. She went to a different country from her province in Batangas to fully support her five children. Nanay Viola began working with the Al-Ghareeb family, whose eldest at that time was just “barely a month old.”

She eventually became his nanny when the couple had four more children together. Nanay Viola received a good amount of salary in her duration and she even got promoted to become their family driver. The source noted that they increased her rate and the couple allegedly hired more nannies to help her.

via facebook/i.am.filipino
When Nanay Viola’s son got sick, her employers offered to pay the medical bills which amounted to almost ₱500,000. They didn’t let the nanny shoulder one centavo of the amount. When her son got sick the second time around, her employers offered to foot the bill again. According to them, she was even treated as an “honorary grandmother.”
Whenever she would go to the Philippines on vacation, her employers would call her. In an additional report from Kuwait Times, they mentioned that the nanny has been working for the Al-Ghareebs for 32 years already. She stated in an interview:

They all grew up under my care. I have been living with them for the last 32 years.”
Now, Nanay Viola is already 63-years-old. She recalled how she started in 1985 and said:
“I came to Kuwait in March 1985 as a domestic helper after losing my husband to cancer. It was terrible, as I had to feed the family. My husband died when I was 27. I married him when I was 16 and we had five children. In the Philippines in the 1980s, we were facing a terrible economic situation because of political tensions brought by Marcos’ martial law.”

via Kuwait Times
She added that she accepted the job a few years after her husband passed away. Nanay Viola said:
“I thought I could cope with life in the Philippines without my husband. For five years, I helped my family survive. I worked hard cleaning houses and doing the laundry for others.”
“It was tough, but I didn’t show my kids that I couldn’t provide for them. I worked day and night, but it wasn’t enough.”
“Thank God I was able to find a good employer. To me personally, they are like God’s angels. They helped my family a lot. If they wouldn’t have helped me, I would probably be under a huge debt for the rest of my life. When my youngest child was hospitalized, my employer paid all the hospital bills – almost half a million pesos.”
“Their kindness towards my family was sealed and tested once again my son fell ill and was hospitalized again, and they paid the bills once more. Thank God for this family for being so genuine and sincere. My employer’s kids treat me just like their grandmother, and I am happy about it.”
The nanny said that she wasn’t maltreated by the Al-Ghareebs family. She narrated:
“I feel at ease and comfortable here – they have never treated me like an outsider. I have taken care of their five children since they were infants and I am still with them although they have grown up. When they need something, they call me – even when they need directions in Kuwait!”
She mentioned that Kuwait has now become her second home. However, her job has allowed her to go to more than 30 countries, thanks to her employers. The nanny said:
“I was able to visit many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, an opportunity one can have only if they are rich.”

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