The Winners Of Our Sassy Mama Helper Awards

The first ever Sassy Mama Dubai Helper Awards were a huge success! Here’s a recap of our event, along with a little bit about the wonderful winners

After sifting through hundreds of amazing nominations – seriously, mamas, each and every one was so moving and it was unbelievably difficult to shortlist only 5 helpers per category, the inaugural Sassy Mama Dubai Helper Awards party was a fabulous way to celebrate just some of the wonderful women who help us on a daily basis.

Judges from Sassy Mama, Koita Organic Milk, Spinneys and Babies & Beyond were given a glimpse in to the amazing, heart-warming bonds that so many families in Dubai have formed with their helpers.

Each of the shortlisted helpers and their sponsor families joined us at Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, the perfect space for mingling, delicious food, and lots of fun and games for all the kids (musical fun by Music Monkeys and a pop-up face painting studio by Cheeky Little Events were both big hits – as were the complimentary mini mani’s by The Nail Spa, intended for the helpers but loved by all the petite princesses on site too!).

We were so happy that we could provide fab gift bags courtesy of My Goody Goodie Bags for all the kids plus really gorgeous prizes for each of the shortlisted ladies including Spinneys vouchers, beautiful blooms by 800 Flowers, Organic milk by Koita and personalised certificates. The winners also received huge hampers by Spinneys, super pretty tea-cup candles by Love Lexi Candles and lots of Ted Baker/Kate Spade goodies from the little birdy group too. And the magic of the event was captured beautifully by the talented photographers from Stu Williamson Photography (who also donated a photoshoot to our main winner!).

The best part of the awards was getting to see the special relationships that so many helpers have with their employers and their families in Dubai and being able to publicly recognize the extraordinary work done and sacrifices made by the wonderful women who help us on a daily basis.

In short, a huge thank you to everyone who made our first Helper Awards such a success: the nominators, the judges, the sponsors, and above all else, the wonderful helpers that we want to celebrate and recognize. We are already planning next year’s event so stay tuned, mamas! It’ll be even bigger, to reflect the fact that so many of you want to praise your helpers – and we want to help you do so!

The Winning Nominations

Pet Lover: Nayda

“Nada first joined me five years ago to take care of my two puppies and she has since extended her love to one rescue cat and an energetic 10 year old boy. They and we adore her, and are so grateful for making sure they are well-exercised and washed, and the house bears little sign of their mischief (whether four-legged or two-legged). I am frequently told that my dogs are the ‘happiest in the park’ and I know that it’s all due to the care that she takes. I would like to nominate her for this award to show our appreciation of her and all the things she does for me and my family.”

Childare: Leny

“We honestly call her Mary Poppins…we think Leny is a guardian angel sent to look after our family. Lenny came to  live with our family shortly after I lost my father to terminal illness, I was grieving terribly and had a very demanding career as did my husband. At that time my first child, my son Barney, was 4 and we needed someone to provide constant support and attention for him as well as to help us at home. Since she has been part of our family, Leny has never once let us down. She loves and cares for us as much as we care for her. In 2015 I discovered I was pregnant but I was really ill. She cared for me every day and even had to take me to the hospital and sit with me. Sadly we lost that baby but once again Leny was there to pick up the pieces and look after all of us. Then magically I got pregnant again and my daughter Daisy is now 8 months old. I don’t know how she does it but Leny also now helps immensely with Daisy too and totally adores her. My life would not be the same without her. She is part of my family and we adore her and will always look after her.”

Top Chef: Asey

“Asey has been with our family since March 2017. In addition to taking great care of the whole family, she treats us to a whole variety of authentic Ethiopian dishes each week. This is all the more special for us as our youngest daughter was adopted from Ethiopia last year. Our entire family has a taste for Ethiopian cuisine which we never would have had without Asey. She feeds us, our neighbours, our friends – she even sends Ethiopian treats in to school for our daughter’s teacher. Her cooking is so much more to us than just food, it’s part of the fabric of our family.”

Helper Of The Year: Ivy

“Ivy is incredible! She travels an hour and a half to work every day and has never been even a minute late! Her father passed away when she was very young and she put herself through studies and always wanted to be a policewoman. She has set her dreams aside to work as a helper so that she can support her siblings and mother financially. She has overcome all sorts of horrible situations when first arriving in Dubai. She is nominated because she is one of the strongest women I have met. She is always positive, hardworking and humble.”

A huge thank you to everyone for helping us make the Sassy Mama Dubai Helper Awards so successful. And a bigger thank you to all of the helpers – we couldn’t do any of it without you! 

As an extra treat, 800 Flowers would like to offer all Sassy Mama readers a lovely 10% discount. Simply mention the code Sassy 10 when purchasing.