Background
Leila is from Tarlac, about 3 to 4 hours from Manila by bus. Now 34 years old, she is the youngest of 4 children. She is married. Her husband is a carpenter. Leila has no children of her own, but is the legal guardian of 3 orphaned 3 nieces/nephews. Her father is a farmer.

Leila has a 2-year diploma for General Radio Communication Operators. She never had a chance to put in practive what she learnt.

Employment History
Besides working 2 years as a sales clerk and 6 months as an assembler in a factory, Leila has worked for a total of 11 years as a domestic helper in 4 different countries.

1. 1995 - 1997: During this period she worked for a Filipino family in Manila. Madam was working. She was the only domestic here and her duties were care of two children aged 1 and 2 at the start. Other duties included cooking, laundry/ironing, market and cleaning.
2. Next she worked in Kuwait, from Sep 97 until Aug 99. The host family of 7 included 3 children aged 5, 7 and 9. Her duties included care of the children, laundry/ironing, cleaning and tutoring the children in English.
   After Kuwait she worked in the Philippines as a sales clerk for two years. She also got married.
3. After a 3-year break she went to work in Syria from Mar 02 until Nov 07, or for almost 6 years. Her duties were childcare, cleaning and laundry/ironing. (As in Kuwait, she did not do any cooking for the family.)
4. Currently she is working in Singapore, beginning in December 2007. Her duties are care of children, cooking, laundry/ironing and general cleaning. Madam is working and leaves care of the house and the children (aged 9 and 13 at the start) to Leila.

Childcare
In the 4 domestic situations, Leila has cared for or helped to care for a total of 8 children with ages ranging from 1 up to 13. She enjoys taking care of children. She has always had a good rapport with her young charges. Some of the things she did for the children (besides giving them their food, bathing them, etc.) she also played with them, told them stories or read to them. She thinks she was more of a childminder than a cook all these years.

Cooking
In the Philippines she cooked for her host family. In the Middle-east cooking was not a requirement. In Singapore, during the first year, Granny stayed with the family. She was a good cook and Leila learnt from her. As she showed an interest in cooking, Madam encouraged her to learn to cook and she has done

1. Basic Baking (8 sessions of 3-hour duration each) where she learnt to bake
   • banana cake
   • sponge cake
   • cookies
   • cobweb cake
   • quiche
   • muffin
   • carrot cake, etc

2. International Cuisine (8 sessions of 3-hour duration each) where she learnt to prepare
   • salad
   • stews (chicken, beef)
   • curries (chicken, fish)
   • rendang (chicken, beef)
   • casserole (chicken, beef)
   • roasts (chicken, pork, beef), etc.

Personality
Leila is neat and smart in appearance, speaks quite good English. She is not demanding. She thinks her forte is childcare, but she also enjoys cooking.

When available: Mid-Nov 09

Profile by Karl Tan
Licensed Employment Agent since 1981