Written by Eboni Delaney, Assistant Director of Narrative and Movement Building
“She passed at 8 1/2 months, and I continued this work in her name.”
For over three decades, Mrs. Ollie Anderson has provided family child care in Miami Gardens, Florida, opening her doors and heart to children and families needing it most. But her journey into child care didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with motherhood.
“I started this daycare after the birth of my daughter,” Ollie shares. “I named it after her—Asia Anderson Children’s World Daycare.”
Just 8 1/2 months later, tragedy struck. Ollie tragically lost her baby daughter, Asia, but even in the midst of profound grief, she carried on.
“She passed at 8 1/2 months, and I continued this work in her name,” she says. “This daycare is her legacy.”
That legacy has become a lifeline for families across Miami Gardens. Ollie’s program provides 24-hour care, serving parents who work overnight, on weekends, and outside the typical 9-to-5. She supports children in foster care, those with disabilities, and families facing crisis, trauma, and housing instability.
According to the 2024–2025 NAFCC Annual Survey, 65% of educators reported caring for children outside standard business hours, highlighting how home-based programs like Ollie’s are essential for working families with nontraditional schedules. Over 70% of family child care educators serve families impacted by economic hardship, trauma, or unstable housing, underscoring the role of FCC as both caregiver and community anchor.
Need isn’t always convenient, but care is always consistent. When families reach out, Ollie meets them where they are.
Over the years, she has cared for a newborn just four days old, removed from her mother and placed with a grandmother, doing everything she could to keep the family stable. Ollie stepped in without hesitation, and that baby girl is now 20 months old and thriving.
She’s supported children with complex medical needs, like a young boy who used a wheelchair and relied on a breathing tract. His mother trusted Ollie to care for him after school, knowing he was safe, loved, and understood.
She walked alongside families navigating homelessness, including a young mother with three small children who rode multiple buses each day, one child in a stroller, two toddlers walking beside her, to get them to Ollie’s home. Aware they wouldn’t receive another hot meal that night, Ollie ensured they ate before returning to the shelter.
“The shelter dinner was over, and no outside food was allowed,” she remembers. “So, I would make them eat beans, rice, and chicken before they left.”
Her lasting impact is remarkable and a testament to the quality of family child care. The children she once looked after as kids now return as adults to express their gratitude. Some, whom she cared for as toddlers, returned with their children for Ollie to care for. One of her former students still keeps the “Most Athletic” award she presented to him 10 years ago—he’s now a college football player. Another, who at one point stayed in a shelter, is now a 23-year-old truck driver traveling the highways of California.
“It’s amazing when parents come to find me years later,” she says. “They still want me to care for their babies.”
Nearly 60% of educators surveyed reported caring for multiple generations within the same family. This continuity of care builds trust and deep community roots, just like the legacy Ms. Ollie has cultivated over the years. Source: NAFCC 2024–2025 Annual Survey
In August 2025, Mrs. Anderson shared her story with a member of her congressional representative’s team as part of the Advocacy is Action campaign, organized by the National Association for Family Child Care. Stories like this help move the needle forward, showing the heart, impact, and lived experiences behind family child care.
When decision-makers hear directly from educators like Ollie, the message is clear: family child care matters, and the people behind it deserve to be seen, valued, and supported.
Mrs. Anderson is an NAFCC accredited educator, and holds degrees in human development with a specialization in social change, but something deeper fuels her—love, loss, and purpose.
“We are more than childcare. We are family. We are helpers, doctors, nurses, and motivators. We care, and we problem-solve.”
Every child who walks through Asia Anderson Children’s World Daycare’s doors becomes part of that family, part of a legacy born from heartbreak and built on love.
Mrs. Anderson credits the long-term success of her business to those who have supported her over the years: her husband, her six children, her extended family members, and the children and families she’s served.
“It takes a village to do this work, and I am thankful for my village.”
