Maid agrees to put off first trip home in 6 years, so Singapore family flies her kids over, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Maid agrees to put off first trip home in 6 years, so Singapore family flies her kids over

This article is more than 12 months old

This Singapore family with three kids and a maid has just shown us what the Christmas spirit can do.

You see, the wife and the second of the three boys have to be away in Europe till early January.

At the same time, their helper was planning to return to the Philippines for a long-awaited break.

With both the maid and his wife away, the husband would find it hard to manage the other two young ones and the household on his own.

So reluctantly, they asked the maid if she could put off her trip to June.

She agreed, but as the employer said in a Facebook post, there was disappointment in her eyes.

She had not seen her own two kids for nearly six years, and with Covid restrictions lifted, she had been looking forward to finally spending a month with them over the festive season.

Her employer, Facebook user Zach Leong, said an idea then struck him.

If their helper, Erma, could not go to the Philippines, how about flying her kids over to Singapore?

And that is what they did.

Mr Leong posted a video of going to the airport to receive the visitors, a girl named Liezel and her younger brother Renato, who is also known as Liezoo.

The two, who had never travelled overseas or even taken a flight before, ran out of the glass doors and into the arms of their mother.

And best of all, the four kids seemed to hit it off immediately.

The two Singapore boys were carrying signs saying “Liezel and Renato Jr, Welcome!” and all four got into a group hug.

Organising the trip - passports, domestic and international tickets, endorsements, insurance - was quite an undertaking, and cost more than Mr Leong anticipated, but he said “it’s truly our way to show our love and appreciation to Erma for her dedication to our family”.

And if you watch the video and see the excitement on all their faces, you’ll know it was priceless.

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