Man Treks Back To Former Foreign Residence To Reunite With Childhood Babysitter

Jan 12, 2023 by apost team

How do we thank the ones that raised us? If a parent, grandparent, relative, or sibling helped you take your first steps or bandaged your scraped knees, finding them and expressing your gratitude for their care can be relatively easy. However, for those who had additional help around the house, finding the person that looked after you as a youngin might be more of a challenge. 

Juanito Jonsson was born in Sweden in 1973. While still a baby, 6-month-old Jonsson traveled with his parents and siblings to Cochabamba, Bolivia. The family hired a woman, Ana, to help care for their young child, given they had jobs and couldn't dedicate the requisite time. The Jonssons employed their nanny from 1973 to 1976, a time when she treated young Juanito like her own child.

Ana had been ill before working as a nanny for the family. Jonsson remembered her struggles when later recalling their incredible story to reporters, "Anna was very sick before she came to our house." He continued, telling The Epoch Times, "Her husband passed away due to a work-related injury, leaving behind two daughters. The oldest is 4 years old and the youngest is 1 year old. People think that Anna was dying and she gave up her two daughters for adoption."

Having been thus separated from her own children and still grieving from the loss of her husband, Ana poured all her love into caring for the little Swedish baby. "She gave me all her love for her daughter," Jonsson recalled warmly.

However, the young man would never forget the care he was shown by Ana all those years ago. Eventually, he would embark on a years-long journey to reunite with his nanny, leading to a tearful reunion in April 2022.

Despite the bond their son shared with his caretaker, the family moved back to Sweden in 1979 before relocating again to Spain some years later. Jonsson would remain in the country, marry, and eventually have children of his own.

During a 2017 business trip to Peru, Jonsson finally felt the call to return to Bolivia. He visited the school his siblings attended as well as the house his father built, however, the person that made so many of those memories special was still missing.

"It touched my soul, and I felt something was missing deep in my soul," Jonsson later told reporters. "In 2017, I started my journey to find Anna." 

He learned eventually that Ana, now 79, lived in Yacuiba, near the Bolivian border with Argentina. Jonsson arranged a visit, meeting Ana's son, Daniel, at the bus terminal.

The two walk to Ana's house, where Jonsson introduces himself to his long-lost nanny. "When I said my name, she remembered right away," Jonsson later recalled. "She said, 'You're Juanito? The one who hugged me and called me 'Ana, my Ana." Juanito?' And we hugged...for her, it was like reuniting with her son who had been lost for 45 years."

After reuniting, Jonsson said they spent the day together. "We talked into the night, and she and I walked hand in hand to the terminal of the bus," Johnson remembered. "She has prayed for me all her life, and it was a miracle for her to meet me." What a heartwarming story of reunion.

apost.com

Have you reconnected with a beloved caretaker from your youth? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family, as well as any au pairs!