Earlier this year we shared the inspiring story of Kyla Mills and Ma Lina, it went viral. Kyla then saw a woman looking to reconnect with her domestic and it has happened.
Kyla Mills went viral earlier this year after writing a Facebook post about her ‘other’ mother, Ma Lina. It all started after she saw a post discussing fair wages. She was inspired to share how important her relationship with Ma Lina was to her life.
‘Ma Lina knew I was a girl before my parents did. She knew because she loved me even then. She’d given her heart away to my brother and patiently waited for her next child from another woman.
Ma Lina lived with us. Her son, Lucas, and the niece she was raising, Dipuo, lived in a township. Growing up I seldom thought about who was bathing and feeding them while Ma was doing that and more for us.
When Ma went home for December when I was 2, I refused to eat or wear clothing. People who were not my “mother” were trying to do the things my “mother” did.’
Ma Lina left Kyla’s family when Kyla was 26. You can read the full post here. Even though Ma Lina was no longer employed by the family, she remained an important part. Ma Lina is the reason Kyla is so passionate about offering fair wages to anyone she employs now.
Kyla became inspired once more after seeing a woman looking to reconnect with her childhood domestic worker. Kyla shared the post on her own wall and it helped connect the pair through a mutual connection. Her hope was to inspire others to try and reconnect with their own ‘other’ mothers.
“This evening on I Love Fourways someone was seeking their long-lost domestic worker, Gladys, and I got consumed by it. I posted it on my wall with encouragement for people to “find their Ma Lina,” and as it happens, a childhood friend of mine whom I went to primary and high school with reached out to me and told me he currently employs Gladys!”
Her post shared her feelings about reconnecting with a childhood domestic worker.
“In all honesty, I don’t know exactly what purpose it might serve you to try find someone who was there for you in your formative years. What I can say is that as a baby, I spent many days on MmaLina’s back, falling asleep to her heartbeat and gentle scent, and that when I hug her now I feel complete. I can say that from all the science, it is clear that the love you receive in your early years translates to success later on, and I owe a lot of my success to Mama.
I can also say that the best part about still being in MmaLina’s life is seeing how I can repay her for all the love she has shown me, and the joy it brings her to know not only that she doesn’t have to worry about her future, but that her love still thrives in me. I think a massive part of me would feel lost and unfulfilled if our relationship ended when her employment did.”
“I am deeply grateful that my parents taught me how to love and respect MmaLina, and that they continue to support her however they can. I will always be a loving employer because of it, and I will always be a loving person because I learnt from the best—MmaLina herself.”
Because of the mutual connection, Gladys will soon be reunited with the woman she cared for many many years ago.
by 