A 20-year-old Taiwanese woman has finally found the Vietnamese woman who cared for her after losing contact a decade ago.
The Taiwanese woman, Hsieh Pei-yu, was elated to track down A-chiu, who used to be her nanny some 15 years ago. The two lost touch after Hsieh’s mother changed cell phone numbers, making it impossible for A-chiu to contact the family after she moved on to a different job.
Hsieh was able to find her former nanny by way of a project, called “Search for your Second Mother.” The project is headed by Radio Taiwan International, Commonwealth Magazine and more than two dozen civic groups. It involves a website where you can submit details about a migrant worker that you are hoping to contact. The goal is to help people find the domestic caregivers who were like a second mother.
Hsieh started the search for A-chiu in June. She says that people told her they were not optimistic about the odds of finding her former nanny.
"A lot of people said “it’s impossible to find her.” And people left comments saying“Vietnam is a big country.” But then we found her," said Hsieh.
Hsieh says she received a call from RTI the day after her story was posted online.
She says that she cried when she finally established contact with A-chiu in a video call. She was moved to hear that her former nanny still remembered little details from when she worked for Hsieh’s family.
Hsieh says that she’s long been interested in Southeast Asian culture, and that could have something to do with the fact that she was raised by a woman from Vietnam. She hopes that the right education can enable more people in Taiwan to view migrant workers in a positive light.