To my Filipino Nanny with love: A Saudis quest for her beloved “2nd mom” ends

 SEEK & YOU SHALL FIND

Such is an immortal proverb  that rings so true for RAWAN RADWAN,  – a freelance journalist & a diplomat’s daughter from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Rewan had initially thought her wish was merely a wishful thinking – but not when she took great effort of walking  an extra mile, thus: re-acquainting  herself with a culture she was a bit familiar with. True enough,  with her learned skill  and keen determination, her effort was not in vain and  in due time,  has paid.  Very soon, she’ll be stepping into the Republic’s’ soil for the firs time and would meet face to face with one of  it’s great local – the ex-nanny of her life –  MARIE NING BERNARDO-BIBIT.

Marie is someone she misses BIG time.  The one-of-a-kind lady she last saw in 1992 more than two decades ago.  She was too young then,  yet she could vividly recall the image  of a pleasant home they had with her nanny’s warm presence around.  Quiet corners of their big house were patched with genuine laughters in the absence of their well-travelled parents. They had fun. Cool times.

 

(Radwan w/ GMANews Overseas Correspondents)

And the THANKS goes to..

The Social media. It  has proven  anew its incredible power of helping humans reconnect and in rebuilding lost relationship beyond the virtual zone. Through the active netizen’s millions of clicking fingers,  her voice was heard, stories were read, shared & reposted; and like a common cold flu, – it made an impact, an outbreak in the air. Forget not the Quezon Public Information Office (PIO)  who played a major role alongside Manila Bulletin under Danny Estacio’s column where Redwan’s frantic searching was first published before it became a top news in Yahoo, seen wide in GMA NewsTV and trends in other global internet sites. It made another Pinoy Nanny “a star”. OUR VERY OWN.

 WHEN NANNYHOOD BECOMES HER

Luck as she may call it, MARIE is still pretty much alive & kicking  quite well  somewhere in Candeleria, province of Quezon.  There, she kept her light shining being “a woman for others”.  She serves as a village watcher in her Barangay and a desk officer for human- rights group called Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) in the town proper.  In between her energy-eating community tasks, she persisted to become a good mother to her 19-year-old child.  The kind of  of the so-called TLC (tender-loving-care), Redwan and her sister Hadeel have been missing for ages.

Upon learning the  cute little girl she once babysit has been eyeing for her,  she broke down in tears as she dole out multiple thanks for her foster family’s equal kindness & affection shown through the passing of years; grateful for making her not just a part of the Redwan’s, but of their lives.

 

(now 50 year old Marie Bernardo reading her own story in print)

ALL NANNIES ARE HERO

While it can be a rewarding affair for Nanny Marie to have found a wonderful sponsor, it can be a terrifying experience for some who failed to.  As of this writing, there are those whose plight remain untold, unseen for various reasons. Those who are broken in spirit and bleeding in silence. Lonesome. Neglected. Maltreated. Abused –  UNLOVED, despite of giving their best, and leaving their own kids back home so as to raise & nurture others’ in a foreign land they thought will give them greener pasture.  But then again, acknowledged or not, they are, and will always be the nation’s pride for championing the profession’s noble cause.

 

(Nanny Marie w/ baby Rawan)

WORTHY OF MERIT, OF REMEMBERING & ACCOLADES. (Looking forward for  more Marie & Rawan in the future).