S'pore employer plans holiday in Bali -- giving maid tearful reunion with her family after 6 years

It was with much trepidation as she waited for her family to arrive. After all, six years have passed since she last saw them.

Hugs, tears and emotion abounded when Sarah, 30, finally got to see her loved ones again last weekend.

Sarah left her hometown in Lombok, Indonesia, to work as a domestic helper in Singapore in 2016, said her employer, Stomper Koh.

Koh shared: "Sarah was with an agency for about nine months, undergoing training and waiting for an employer to hire her. She was employed in 2017 by a family with seven adults and two cats. She endured the work for two years."

Unfortunately, Sarah was unable to return to Indonesia for a home visit after the end of her two-year contract due to border closures and travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Koh added: "She requested to be transferred, but her employer did not allow it and wanted to send her back instead. As Sarah still has a son to support and a house to build, she endured for another two years.

"In 2021, she decided to request for a transfer again. This time round, the employer decided to release her.

"Sarah came to me in October 2021. Her home visit was supposed to be in October 2023, but we decided to have a family trip to Bali and at the same time arrange for Sarah's family to come over from Lombok to meet her."

The holiday in Bali lasted from July 15 to July 19.

"The first two days were spent with just my family. Sarah's family came over to join us for the last two days," said Koh, who shared a video of the tearful reunion between Sarah and her loved ones.

Sarah's son was only five years old when she left Lombok. He is now 11.

It was an equally emotional scene when Sarah bade farewell to her family at the end of the trip.

Asked how Sarah reacted to the reunion, Koh revealed: "She said she didn't know what else to say besides thank you for having her family over.

"She also said this is the first time they got to dine together at the same dining table and her family's first time stepping out of Lombok."

Koh told Stomp: "Sarah has been a great asset to my family. She is able to handle my two kids (aged three years old and seven months old) on her own, allowing my husband and I to focus on our work.

"She takes care of them when they are sick and brings my elder child to school, going above and beyond her daily duties of cooking and household chores. As my husband is air crew, Sarah would also sometimes offer to cancel her days off or shorten her days off just to help me out with the kids.

"The message we would like to bring across is that domestic helpers have made sacrifices for their family. They leave their families behind and come over here alone just to provide a better life for their loved ones. They are human beings with feelings too.

"I hope these videos can serve as a reminder for employers to treat domestic helpers better."