Rosaline is no ordinary Indonesian domestic helper (DH) in Singapore. Unlike
the typical DH from Indonesia, she is a Roman Catholic and
a university graduate - Economics.
She completed her 4-year degree program in 3 years! Unlike her compatriots
working here as DHs she speaks English well (about as proficient as the
average Filipino DH). And she has not worked for a Singaporean. All her
three employers are expatriates.
First time
Her first family was Australian-Indonesian Chinese with
2 children 3 and 1½ years old at the beginning of employment. After
ten months (Feb - Dec 00), the family went home to Australia via Jakarta and
Rosaline went with them.
Second time
Five months later she was back in Singapore working
for an Indian expatriate family with one child aged 6 when Rosaline started.
Now
she is working for a Dutch family of 4 - the parents and two children. They
will be leaving for home soon and Rosaline will be available then.
Childcare experience
Rosaline has taken care of five children in all, with ages ranging from
1½ to 13 years. Though in all 3 cases, Madam stays at home, Rosaline
does much of the child care. There were occasions when Madam had to go out
and leave the children in Rosaline's care.
Cooking
Rosaline learns much from recipe books. For her first family
(Australian-Indonesian Chinese) she cooked Indonesian food. For her second
employer, an expat from India, she cooked Indian (but not vegetarian) food.
Her current employer is Dutch. He and Madam enjoy Indonesian food, for they
had lived in Indonesia a long time. She has learnt to cook some Indian
dishes from her Indian employer. Madam and Rosaline would occasionally try
out a new dish with a cook book to guide them along the way.
She is happy to take care of children from the age of two years. Her
preference is for caring for children as against cooking. Rosaline is
cheerful, neat and tidy in appearance and speaks English quite well.
