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Helper Appreciation: In Praise of Our Family’s Wonderful Helper Jovelyn

helper appreciation month jovelyn ayong cooking with friends
Family LifePost Category - Family LifeFamily Life - Post Category - Domestic HelpersDomestic Helpers

As we conclude Helper Appreciation Month 2020, a grateful employer sings the praises of her wonderful helper, and encourages other employers to do the same

Last week we received a lovely email from mama Nasseem Kazi, who wanted to share how proud and inspired she was by her family’s helper, Jovelyn. “She is a talented artist, and her baking is quite impressive. I’d really love to highlight her talent and find opportunities to help her develop them further,” Nasseem wrote.

Although we were sadly unable to hold our annual Helper Appreciation party this year, we felt it would be fitting to give Nasseem a platform to show her gratitude and give Jovelyn a much-deserved moment in the spotlight. Even though Helper Appreciation Month is drawing to a close, Nasseem reminds us there is never a bad time to thank your helper for all of her hard work, or encourage her to discover new hobbies and pursue her passions

helper appreciation Jovelyn Ayong
Jovelyn has demonstrated a natural talent for cooking and baking

Our helper, Jovelyn Ayong, joined our family in January 2019 when our previous helper relocated back to the Philippines.

We first met Jovelyn at Maids R Us agency and we were impressed not only by her calm and composed nature, but her honesty in disclosing the reasons she was seeking to change employer.

Jovelyn had been working as a domestic worker in Singapore since 2007 with the same family and it took her a lot of courage to take the step to make a change and take the risk of moving in and adapting to a new family.

When Jovelyn joined our family, we all had to adjust to each other. A key factor for us was to establish trust in the employer-employee relationship. We spent time having meaningful conversations, listening to her concerns or worries, and giving feedback to each other.

helper appreciation jovelyn ayong cooking
Jovelyn enjoys cooking with her employer’s daughter

Jovelyn took her responsibilities seriously and was very adept at managing the house, taking on her duties of looking after our daughter, cooking meals, and doing the grocery shopping, where she has free reign to buy what is required based on what she is planning to cook for the week.

It was apparent from the beginning that she is very hardworking, was great with kids, and eager to learn how to bake and cook new dishes.

Jovelyn is a fantastic cook! She can cook dishes from Asian to western cuisines and is always keen to attempt new dishes and perfecting her recipes. She has a passion for creativity and she expresses it through her cooking, baking and arts & crafts.

Whenever she walks down the baking aisle in the supermarket, her eyes light up and she will excitedly talk about all the possibilities of what she could create next with the vast array of baking ingredients and decorations such as sprinkles and icing!

From fresh breads to cakes and pies, Jovelyn will keep working on her recipes until she is satisfied with her creation.

Jovelyn loves drawing and painting, which she does almost daily. Whether it is creating henna designs or sketching landscapes in Singapore, she is happy when she can express herself through her drawings.

Jovelyn is someone who is always keen to learn. In 2018, she joined a make-up course and obtained a certificate for outstanding achievement. In the same year, she entered a make-up competition and won the “grand winner” award!

Jovelyn has also joined cooking classes to learn about Middle Eastern and Indian cooking styles.

helper appreciation jovelyn ayang drawing
A pencil sketch of Marina Bay Sands drawn by Jovelyn

From our perspective, we feel it is very important to continue supporting her passion for creativity so that she can develop her talent further and even start her own business one day. We strongly feel that while she is working in Singapore she should make the most of the opportunities available to pursue her interests further.

As part of Helper Appreciation Month, we would like to sincerely thank Jovelyn for her commitment and love that she has shown to our family, including our extended family when they come to visit us in Singapore. We appreciate that it is very difficult to leave your family back home and come to work in a different country and also adjust to an employer’s lifestyle. We are most grateful that because she handles everything so well, we can have the peace of mind to go to work knowing that our child is well looked after, and that we are can come home to a clean house and a wonderful meal. Thank you, Jovelyn.

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