This Man Travels Half the Globe To Reunite with His Childhood Nanny

I admit it feels great to reunite with someone you haven’t seen in a long time. The never-ending stories, the laughter you shared, and reminiscing about all the common things. 45 years ago, when Annie from Bolivia raised a Swedish little boy of four years old in April 2022, the man reunited with his nanny in Bolivia. Juanito Johnson was born in Sweden in 1973. Now he lives with his wife and three sons in Fungirolo, Malaga, in southern Spain.

Six months after he was born, his family moved to Cochabamba, Bolivia, since both his parents had jobs and his siblings were in school, a nanny was hired to take care of Juanito. Her name was Anna. Anna was very sick before she came to their house. Johnson told the Epoch Times that her husband passed away due to a work-related injury, leaving behind two daughters.

The oldest was four, and the youngest was one year old. People think that Anna was dying, and she gave up her two daughters for adoption. From 1973 to 1976, Anna worked as Johnson’s nanny, and she treated him like her own child. “She gave me all her love for her daughters,” Johnson said. “She is also completely recovered from her sickness.”

Johnson returned to Sweden in 1979 but moved to Spain after a few years. There he settled and married, and they had three sons together. In 2017, Johnson traveled to Peru for a conference when he suddenly felt the impulse to visit Bolivia. He first traveled by plane, then took a nine-hour bumpy ride by car to Cochabamba, Bolivia.

He rented a room near his brother’s school and visited his childhood home where Anna raised him. Meeting with the new owners, the place brought him back memories. “It touched my soul, and I felt something was missing,” Johnson solemnly said. “In 2017, I started my journey to find Anna. However, when the pandemic hit, his plans were repeatedly postponed.”

In early 2022, Johnson got in touch with Anna’s son, Daniel, and learned some basic information about his former nanny. Anna is 79 years old and sells candles in Yakuba, a small town on the border between Bolivia and Argentina. He then decided to travel to Yakuba this April to surprise Anna. At 7 am on April 2nd, Johnson arrived at Yakuba, where Daniel met him at the bus terminal.

Johnson could no longer contain his excitement when he was approaching Anna’s home. She greeted him from afar but didn’t immediately recognize him. She was unaware that the guest was the child she raised 45 years ago. “When I said my name, she remembered right away,” Johnson recalls. “She said, ‘You’re Juanito, the one who hugged me and called me Anna, my Anna Juanito.’ Then we hugged, the tear-jerking moment served as a reunion between mother and son, who were separated for 45 years.”

Anna lived in a simple home, and Johnson had breakfast with his former nanny in her home. He showed her an album with photos of his parents, siblings, and his current family. He also provided money for the repairs needed at her house, and his excitement couldn’t be contained, and her happiness was beyond words. Johnson took Anna to a good local restaurant for dinner.

They reminisced while they ate, and the stories were non-stop. “We talked into the night, and she and I walked hand in hand to the terminal of the bus,” Johnson said. “She’s 79 years old. Her lungs aren’t very good, and she has some vision problems, but she’s very strong, independent, and her mind is very clear. She’s prayed for me all her life, and it was a miracle for her to meet me.”

When he returned to Spain, Johnson compiled the videos of his reunion with Anna and posted them on his social media pages, together with some photos of the two of them. His followers instantly rose from dozens to thousands, and his post garnered millions of views. Since then, Anna and Johnson kept in touch through video calls every week.

He plans to visit Anna again in Yakuba next June. Although Johnson was raised in Bolivia, he never felt the need to visit South America before 2017. “Although I live in Europe, I’m very proud that I have a strong sense of belonging to Cochabamba,” Johnson said. “Anyone who asks where are you from, I say I was born in Sweden, but I grew up in Bolivia. Bolivia is part of my life.”

Whenever he remembered his reunion with Anna, Johnson is grateful for the opportunity to reunite and celebrate with his beloved nanny who loved and cared for him while he was a child.

“Sometimes it’s too late to say something, so there’s always a longing in the back of my mind to reconnect with my childhood nanny, to express my gratitude, to take advantage of loved ones,” Johnson said. “Express your gratitude while you’re alive and leave no regrets.”