SINGAPORE: Domestic helpers are typically hired to handle everyday household chores, but in some homes, the bond between employer and helper grows so strong that they are no longer seen as staff, but as part of the family.

Recently, a Singaporean woman shared on Reddit that her family has become deeply attached to their domestic helper, whom she lovingly calls her “Aunty” and even her “second mother.”

“My aunty has been with my family for 24 years, and we genuinely treat her like family. She eats with us at meal times, she sleeps in air conditioning, and she uses the same bathroom. I share products with her and buy things for her often.”

“We don’t ever ask her to pay us back, and everything is always on us, including phone bills, medication, and even allowance money on top of her salary. I often bring her out for meals, especially when my parents are travelling, which is often. She is like a second mother to me.”

When her aunty asked “if she would be sent home” after learning that the family would be moving overseas and that the family’s dogs had passed away, the woman said her family reassured her that she would always have a place with them for as long as she wanted.

The woman explained that because her aunty had sacrificed so much of her life, including time away from her own family, to care for theirs, her family now sees her as one of their own. Although her aunty keeps in touch with her family back home, she shared that “Singapore feels more like home to her now than the Philippines.” She even expressed that she hopes to help raise the woman’s future children.

“My brother and I are very close to her. We hug her, and she is like blood family. Sometimes people ask how we are related, and she will joke that she’s my sister. Honestly, I love my aunty so much; she has seen me through everything. I would even name my daughter after her if I had one.”

Looking ahead, the family is planning to bring the aunty along on trips abroad. They hope to take her to Japan this year and to Europe next year after her brother graduates.

“This year we want to bring her on travels to Japan like we did when we kids were younger, but this time for her to enjoy because she deserves it. She has always been so loyal and never took anything; she gave way more than we could want, and she is a wonderful person. I plan to support her like she is family for as long as she lives, because she truly is family.”

Read also: ‘Is this allowed?’: Unpaid intern says role meant for learning turned into manual labour

This article (After 24 years, domestic helper becomes ‘second mother’ to Singapore family) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.