Leading increasingly hectic lives is impacting on all our lives. A typical day will not only going to work but also ensuring meals are cooked, children are looked after and the house is kept clean. For some to achieve this, a maid or a domestic aide is an absolute necessity. In the olden days servants as they were termed were sourced from estates and villages where parents unable to feed the extra mouths would gladly send their sons and daughter to work for city dwelling families in order to earn some extra money for the family. Then came a boom where domestic workers lured by better salaries thronged to West Asia in search of their fortune. Nowadays finding a good domestic aides in Sri Lanka is a herculean task.

Given the rise in unemployment especially in rural areas of Sri Lanka,  it still appears difficult to find people to work as domestic aides. Salaries have increased and working conditions are better in most cases but still there is a dearth in sourcing good domestic aides. While some are lucky enough to find domestic aides who stay on for years others come a cropper with bad experience. We spoke to a cross section of women on their experiences of having domestic aides and what qualities they look for when selecting home help.

Manjula Talwatte

I think domestic helpers are an absolute necessity as long as they are treated with dignity they deserve as an employee. I firmly believe that is they are treated so, they will remain in your service rather than seek alternative places of employment.

Nishanka Malwatte Mohotti

The essential qualities are honesty and integrity. The reason is that they will have access to my family especially children and aged parents, thus to ensure the safety of the less able bodied family members.

Lolly Ismail

Maids are an evil necessity. I say so because in a household of a working couple with or without children someone has to take care of the rest of the work even with or without the supervision of an older relative. Someone has to be around to do the serving and clearing especially when entertaining guests. A maid can be demanded to do this or that work not so from a relative. In the good old days the family members were required to share all the work between them. In affluent families it was the fashion to have a maid. These days with the changing lifestyles, and the busy schedules led by individuals a trusted maid in the house is invaluable. What I look for in a maid is cleanliness and honesty.

Maya Cockeram

My experiences with maids has been positive. Kusuma my daily came to work with us when we arrived in SL and continues to stay for the 12 years we lived there. Shanthie came to work with us when Sophie was born 8 years ago and stayed with us till we left too. She was also a daily and worked mornings three days a week. Kusuma did the cooking and some cleaning and Shanthie the tedious work like ironing and cleaning. They were both really honest, punctual and very rarely missed a day of work. If they did they would call and inform. When we left to the UK for the summer they looked after the house and pets for us. I encouraged their children and grandchildren to stay in our home so it was like a holiday for them too. They were a part of our family. I miss them both so much. They were really wonderful. They were both devout Christians and I feel that was instrumental in their honesty and integrity and work ethos. If people have strong religious convictions Christian or otherwise it makes them better employees I think. We treated them like they were our family. We ate meals together and paid them well and looked after their medical care and needs and helped them financial if a crisis took place. I think if you treat maids well they they will remain loyal and make for wonderful helpers.

Hema Gunawardhana

Having a maid is invaluable for someone like me who is elderly and a patient. I have been very fortunate to have my Prema who  has been with my family for over 25 years. She not only looked after my mother and mother in law, she now looks after me. We have our ups and downs of course, but we always make up. Treating maids with respect and dignity makes them feel appreciated and increases their loyalty to their employers.

Carmen Mottau

I was lucky to get a maid whose sister worked for my niece. Initially it took a bit of getting used to have someone non-related being around me right through out as I am a person who likes my privacy. However it worked out well as apart from doing the work required she would also keep me going with various anecdotes about her family. She is also quite theatrical at times and I discovered that she was not only a maid but an entertainer all rolled into one!

Christine Edward

Our family maid Alice has been in our service for well over fifty years. She is like an institution! She helped bring up my daughter and her trustworthy nature is second to none. When we travel abroad we can leave the entire house unlocked in her care and be assured that nothing will be missing. She is also green fingered and takes great delight in growing various vegetables in the garden which is a huge plus for us. She is part of our family now and has travelled with us overseas on many occasions. Some people found that hard to accept but to me Alice has made my life easy and less pleasurable so rewarding her yeoman service with trips overseas is nothing in the scheme of things. She has her moments, who doesn’t but then don't we all?

By Tina Edward Gunawardhana