Helper thanks 'beloved' Singapore employers who surprised her with gifts and a cake on her birthday
SINGAPORE: In Singapore, most employers who have domestic helpers in their households treat them decently, although, as with all other situations, there are exceptions to this.
Perhaps this is why when a TikTok user working as a helper in Singapore thanked her employers for making her birthday special, it received some attention on the platform.
Ms Monique, a Filipina helper who is behind an account called @helpers.diary, had a birthday in August. While it was not a day off for her, the family she worked for still took the time to celebrate with her.
Her birthday video starts with the tasks that she does for work: folding and putting away clothes, preparing food and cooking, and doing the dishes.
However, her day brightens with a drawing from one of her charges, Leona, who appears to be in kindergarten.
Later, she is seen flanked by two small children, singing the birthday song, and blowing out the candles on a cake.
“Happy birthday to Ah yah,” the little children sing.
To cap her day, she shows a red envelope and a bottle of perfume, which seem to be gifts from her employer.
In a text overlay on her clip, she wrote, “Thank you, my Beloved Employers, and my Friendship number 1 and number 2. Love love.”
Her clip, which has nearly 150,000 views, also received a lot of comments, many of which contained birthday greetings for Ms Monique.
“Happy birthday!! So cute u have 2 little friends. I hope my Filipino helper will be friends with my kids too!!” wrote a well-wisher.
Ms Monique often posts about her daily meals, what she does and where she goes on her rest days, and looks to be part of a kind household, which even took her with them on an eight-day trip to Australia, complete with ang bao.
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She also posts about the wins in her life, such as being able to buy herself earrings after helping her parents back home and paying for her brother’s college education. Indeed, her videos are a good look at the life of a helper in Singapore, and may provide viewers with some understanding of how these unsung heroines live. /TISG