When her ex-husband left her and their newborn daughter, Rosie Villa decided to find a job abroad to support the child and give her a better life. For 17 years, she worked as a nanny in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This year, she goes home with P1 million in her bank account as she was chosen as UAE’s best nanny!
Rosie won the award from an initiative of a fintech platform for migrants called ‘rise’. There were more than 2,000 nominations received from families and friends all across the UAE who nominated their nannies online by filling out a form on Facebook, posting a picture of their nanny, and answering the questions about her in detail.
Next, they had to share the post and encourage their friends to like it as every like was counted as a vote. A panel of four experts assessed nannies on critical childcare skills in the areas of child learning and development, building a nurturing environment, safety, health and nutrition, the impact to the family and role modeling, scaling all the potential winners down to the top finalists, and then again to the final winner.
The 39-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was selected from among the 42 nannies who were shortlisted for the award. Apart from the Best Nanny award, there were three other categories to the award including the Rising Nanny, the Longest Serving Nanny, and the Best Employer awards.
Rosie was grateful for the award and the money, especially since this came at the time when she needed it the most. Her 17-year-old daughter is set to start college and she plans to take up BS Accountancy, a 4-year course.
Despite being a single mom, she was able to closely monitor and raise her daughter with the help of her siblings. Rosie is happy that she will now have sure money to send her to school and to also help her parents. She also plans to build a house for her and her daughter, using part of her award.
Currently, Rosie earns Dh2,800 (P40,000) but she sends most of the money she ears to her siblings who are taking care of their parents, both of whom are bedridden. Come April 2019, she would be completing 6 years with her current employers, Agustina Rastelli, and Andrew Wojecki, who were very supportive of her during the contest.
“It is my employers’ support and trust that has given me this opportunity to secure this. They have stood by me at all times. And I am grateful to the rise team for this gift of a lifetime,” Rosie said.