Walla's Story: A job that's always meant something more

When Walla talks about her work with children, she sometimes struggles to find the perfect words, but she doesn't need many. The feeling comes through clearly. 

"When I go to work, it's like I'm going to a party," she says with a laugh. "For me, it's like happiness." 

For more than three decades, Walla has brought that joy with her every day as an early learning facilitator with St. Raphael’s YMCA School Aged Child Care in Burlington.  

When she first arrived in Canada in 1989 as a newcomer and mother of two young children, she decided to open a home daycare to help others while also caring for her family.  

Two years later, she saw a job posting in the newspaper for a before and after school child care position with the YMCA and decided to apply. That decision became a career spanning more than 30 years. 

"Each child is different," she says. "I understand how I should [approach them], how to talk to them, how to help them solve problems." 

Rather than correcting children with a list of rules, Walla focuses on guidance and encouragement. 

"I never say, 'Don't do this, don't do that,’ she explains. "I just tell them what to do." 

For Walla, caring for children has always been meaningful. But becoming a grandmother deepened that sense of purpose in ways she never expected. 

"When she was born, I felt more [love]," she says of her granddaughter.  

Walla says that feeling made her want to be an even better caregiver—to all children.  

“I want them to be happy. I want to care for them—a lot," she says. 

Though she struggled to find the words, her message was clear. Caring for children gives her a sense of fulfillment and continues to inspire her each day.  

That dedication hasn't only shaped the lives of children. It has influenced families, colleagues, and an entire community. 

According to Melissa Kelly, manager of early learning & child care, "What makes Walla truly special is the legacy she has built through relationships." Over the years, she has cared for generations of families, including children who once attended her program and now return as parents themselves. 

Every morning, when Walla walks through the doors of her program, she still feels the same joy she felt when she first began. The children may change from year to year, but her commitment never does. 

"I want to be there for them." 

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