SINGAPORE – It was only a 30-minute video call over Zoom.

But for Singaporean sisters Jessie and Hannah Tan, and New Zealanders Frank and Laurie Rands, it ended a four-decade search and brought back a lifetime of memories.

Mr Rands, 73, had been stationed in Singapore with the New Zealand Navy in the 1970s and worked at the then Sembawang Naval Base.

The Tans’ late mother, Madam Lily Wong, had worked for the Rands as an amah, or housekeeper, till the couple returned to New Zealand in 1973.

When the Zoom call began, the sisters and the Rands could hardly contain their excitement. They broke into big smiles and teared up as they said their first “hellos” in more than 40 years.

Ms Hannah Tan, with a quaver in her voice, said: “We were very, very surprised and excited when we found out that you have been looking for our mum, for 40 years!

“We couldn’t believe it, and we’re so grateful to the both of you.”

Mrs Rands, 70, told the sisters she often thought of their mother, who worked for the couple for three years in their Kasai Road home.

She explained: “I was just 18 years old when I first came to Singapore and within 16 months, we had our first baby. Without Lily, I cannot imagine how I would have coped.

“She was an older lady who had the maturity I did not have and she helped me learn the ropes of motherhood.

“I am forever grateful to her.”

Ms Hannah Tan, 68, a housewife, said: “We are so proud of our mother for the impact she left on their lives and thankful to them for not giving up on their search.”

During the call, the sisters broke the news to the couple that their mother had died of a stroke in 2007 at the age of 86 after a period of ill health.

Given Madam Wong’s age, Mrs Rands was not surprised that her amah had passed on, but regretted not being able to meet her one more time.

The Rands said they would visit the columbarium where Madam Wong’s ashes are kept to pay their respects when they visit Singapore in December.

Ms Jessie Tan recalled vividly how sad everyone was when the Rands returned home in 1973. Mrs Rands was six months’ pregnant with a son then.

Through the years, the exchange of letters soothed both families until 1980 when Madam Wong moved out of her flat in Eunos Crescent to live with her children due to poor health, but did not inform the Rands.

All contact was lost for more than 40 years.

During that time, the Rands had made inquiries with Singapore government agencies, searched online and even flew to Singapore in 2015 to visit their old address in Kasai Road.

Their searches came up empty until July, when Ms Jessie Tan’s son Randy stumbled upon a Facebook post of a Straits Times article featuring a photograph of his grandmother Lily.

The article was about the couple’s long search for Madam Wong and her family.

Mr Rands said: “We thought we’d just write to The Straits Times and try our luck, but didn’t think anything would come of it. We kept our expectations to the minimum.

“The fact that we were able to find Lily’s family is absolutely incredible.”

Mrs Rands said they were determined to find Madam Wong as she was a part of their family.

“Though she was (about 20 years) older than us, we bonded over many things, like our families and what life in Singapore was like. There was never a dull moment,” she recalled.

After the Rands left Singapore, Madam Wong continued working as an amah for British and Australian families to support her own family. Besides her two daughters, she also had a son, who is 69.

Now 64, Ms Jessie Tan remembers fondly the many Saturdays she spent at the two-storey terrace in Seletar Hills, where she often played with the Rands’ newborn daughter, also named Laurie.

She was a teenager at the time in the early 1970s and had also helped her mother with the housework.

The retired pre-school teacher said: “I was very curious about what living in a big house was like as my family lived in a kampung in Serangoon back then.”

It was at the Kasai Road house where the younger Ms Tan developed a love for Western cuisine.

She said: “I loved eating lunch at the house as my mum and Laurie would cook Western dishes like chicken chop, and fish and chips. My favourite were the potato dishes – french fries and mashed potatoes.”

The sisters recalled the Rands’ generosity, with Ms Hannah Tan saying: “They didn’t treat us like the helper’s daughters. They bought us gifts during Christmas, and we were allowed to roam around the house freely.”

The Tans are thrilled at the prospect of reuniting with the Rands, who retired in 2018, when they visit in December and have invited the couple to their homes.

Madam Wong was Peranakan and the sisters are keen to introduce the Rands to the cuisine, just like how the New Zealanders introduced them to Western delights all those years ago in Kasai Road.

The sisters said: “We are really looking forward to the reunion in December. It’s hard to believe we will be seeing them in person again, this is truly a miracle.”