Repost: I Am Proud To Be A Domestic Worker but…. Are you tired of being a domestic worker abroad? If so, you’re not alone! I am working as a nanny for 3 years now but I promised myself, I am not going to stay working in this condition for long. I am proud of my job. The salary is enough to feed my family decently. With this job, I am able to help my family and relatives back home. I was able to buy things that I was dreaming when I was a kid. I am happy seeing the fruit of my labor. I am happy but there are questions in my mind. There were times that I asked myself, why I have to do this? Why I have to be away from my family to give them a better future? Why am I here watching other kids and doing all these chores for a foreign family? Why am I here watching old people but I can’t take care my old folks? There are times that I am blaming why I was born poor. Why our country leaders are corrupt and can’t help its own people? I was working in Morocco as a tutor for three years and part-time nanny for a year before I was hired to work in Canada. I am a live-in caregiver here working as a nanny for three years now. Being a live-in caregiver here requires doing household chores as well so I am a domestic worker and a nanny at the same time. Live-in caregivers here in Canada and domestic workers in other parts of the world have the same jobs (People always think that if you’re a caregiver, you’re only looking after the elderly). The difference is we are paid hourly and we’re protected by the government. But the job is also very challenging. I am working in a 3-floor house with 10 rooms (office and storage rooms are included) with three and a half washrooms (three and a half means three full bathrooms -with toilet and shower area and half means only toilet). Washroom is a Canadian term for restroom/ comfort room. Three floors including the basement. I have to cook meals everyday. The family I am working for is used to Asian cuisine so they’re not the typical Canadian family who eats pasta or bread all throughout the day. I am watching two active boys aged four and six (They were 1 and 3 when I started working for the family). On top of that, I have to do the laundry, ironing, vacuuming and mopping. Sometimes, I clean my employers’ cars too. I am standing four feet 9 inches tall (or short) and weighing 34 kilograms. Everyday, I have to maintain the cleanliness of my employer’s house and I have to deal with the boys who are very sporty (having both parents who are athletic. The father is a hockey player). I need to play soccer, hockey, football, basketball and other sports with them. Indeed being a domestic worker is a very tiring job. That’s why, I made sure that my family values my hard-earned money. I explain to them how hard is it to be away from them. I constantly tell them that I don’t want to spend my whole life working for other people. I am proud to be a household worker but I am dreaming big for myself and my whole family. I save as much as I can, I am using my spare time to become more productive such as learning the English language or reading personality development books. This English blogs of mine is part of my self-study to widen my vocabulary and practice my grammar. Even we’re just working at our employer’s house, we shouldn’t stop from learning things that we can use in the future. There are people who are using their time to do business or to study online. I am proud today that I am a domestic worker but I will use whatever I learn here to be more competitive in other fields in the future. This is just my stepping stone to succeed in life. By: Raquel Padilla
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:24:06 +0000
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