Indonesian maid (domestic worker) Widarningsih is a nanny, cook and a
housekeeper too. With a wealth of experience (2 years for an Aussie couple
in Bali) and 4 years in Singapore (for a Singaporeans and a Canadian), she
is now available.
Background
From Medan, Sumatra, she is 33 years old and married with one son aged 9.
Her husband is a cab driver. Her father now retired, used to be a gas
station attendant. She is 2nd of 3 children. She has a secondary education
(9 years) and speaks fairly good English.
Employment History
She has worked at various jobs for a total of about 9 years in her own
country before coming to Singapore where she worked for about 4 years.
- Her first job was in Singapore. For 3 years, from Dec 1994 until Oct
1997 she worked as a domestic helper for a Singapore family of 5 including 2
children and grandma. The children were 10 and 17 and needed little
attention. Grandma did the cooking much of the time though she also cooked
simple dishes now and then (dishes such as steamed fish, porridge,
vegetables and soup). At the end of 3 years she went home. Her mother would
not let her return to Singapore.
- For the next 9 years she stayed in her country where she
- first worked a department store in Jakarta. She stayed on
for 7½ years from Dec 1997 until Jul 2005 to take up a position
in Bali.
- From 2005 to 2007 she worked as a chamber maid in a hotel run by an
Aussie couple. She was one of 7 helpers there. Her duties were cleaning
theroom and making the bed.
- With her mother's blessing and her husband's consent, she return to
Singapore in 2008 where
- she worked for a local Chinese family from May to Aug 08. It was a
big change (from shop assistant - 7 years and chambermaid - 2 years) and she
did not fare well.
- However, she gave it another go and went to work for a
Canadian-Singaporean family. Madam was a Ceylonese (the terms used to refer
to Sri Lankans before independence) and her husband was Canadian. They
enjoyed the Indonesian dishes she prepared for them, such as rendang,
grilled chicken, soto ayam (with chicken, sometimes beef), fish or chicken
curry, vegetables usually with coconut milk. She also cooked for them
western dishes such as pasta, muffin, hamburger with cheese, mashed potato
and salads. Madam's siblings often visit on weekends and Widarningsih's
would cook for the party.
Cooking
Widarningsih learnt how to cook western food from Madam. After a month or
so, Madam left the cooking entirely to Widarningsih, merely telling her what
dishes to cook. She also cooked Indonesian dishes on weekends when Madam's
sibling come to visit. Apparently they preferred Indonesian to western.
Personality
Widarningsih is simple and unassuming, simply dressed and tidy in
appearance. She speaks English fairly well, having worked for an Aussie (in
Bali) for 2 years and in Singapore for 4 years.
Childcare
She does not have a lot of childcare but she is willing to work for a family
with younger children.
Cleaning
Without being asked, she volunteers that she likes to do a cleaning job.
She does not mind dogs having taken care of 2 big dogs in Bali and a
small dog in Singapore.
