Looking for house helps? The need to know their health status

In recent times, there has been growing concerns over the health status of house helps that families took in to assist in taking care of their children and domestic chores. Usually married women especially working class ones mostly sort to engage the services of house helps to assist them run their home while they pursue […]

In recent times, there has been growing concerns over the health status of house helps that families took in to assist in taking care of their children and domestic chores.

Usually married women especially working class ones mostly sort to engage the services of house helps to assist them run their home while they pursue their businesses or career. 

Interestingly engaging the services of house helps comes with certain advantages and disadvantages. While some of them pose threat to the family through wicked and malicious acts, others bury themselves in their work to serve the families well for their own immediate benefits which could be salary, getting formal education, or acquiring a particular craft to be settled by the families they serve at the end of specific period. 

However the stories about some house helps health status had raised a lot of fear in the minds of most women that they now take them to clinic to run a test before taking them in.

 Some women who spoke to Home front said it is very important to run the test to determine their health status because of the evil stories going round and to help protect the children who are more vulnerable in case of any infectious diseases.

A Housewife and a mother of two, Mary Onuh said taking the house help to clinic for test is the first thing she does after they have agreed on terms and condition with the agent. 

She said: “After the birth of my second child, my husband and I agreed to look for a house help to assist in the house. We contacted the agent who brought a girl of about 22 years to me on the basis that I will put her in school and give her parents a monthly salary of N5, 000.”

 “I was forced to take her to a clinic to run a test after a church member testified in church that her house girl tested positive to HIV and the pastor spoke on the need to know the health status of people we are bringing into our homes,” she said.

 She however said, aside having terminal disease some of them could be allergic to some things or have contagious disease, saying, “You know it is very important to run the test because they are coming to assist one to take care of the children who are very vulnerable.”

Mrs Onuh said most times the house helps hardly stay long so, it is a sacrifice one has to do to keep the family save and also avoid having the house help stay with illness around the children.

Another mother of two, Mrs. Blessing Deji described her experience as shocking, saying after having about two house helps that left within a short period, she became desperate in search of a replacement to assist in taking care of her few months old baby while she is at work.

She said, when she eventual got one, who is over 25years, she thought the search was over little did she know that shock was awaiting her.

“I took the girl after few days to the clinic and the test result shows she is HIV positive and I could not bring myself to tell her, but she knew something was not right,” she said.

 She said, “All I did was to call the person who brought her and told her she has to go back, though the girl in question asked me what is the outcome of the test as she noticed from my countenance that all is not well, but I asked her not to worry.”

According to her, the girl who is expected to get married at the end of the year is ignorant of her health condition, saying, “She told me that she was given some drugs by her fiancé but she is not taking it because she feels she is not sick.”

Mrs Deji however said, it is very important to determine the health status of anyone you want to take care of your children and that it should be the first thing for anyone to do.