Aline Spileers

After dropping off her youngest child, aged six, at the leisure center, Aline Spileers continues: arriving at the office, managing emails, recruiting on the France Travail website, organizing training for her employees, visits to set up the guards…

When we meet her, she has just left Lenval Hospital in Nice: “I went there to organize the return home of a young girl in palliative care, with her family and the two caregivers I recruited. In my job, it’s not always easy, you know, but what matters to us is trying to do everything possible to offer the child the best life possible in the months or years they have left. That a baby feels safe, that they are clean, that we make them laugh by playing the clown, that they are a child first and foremost and not an illness or a social security number.”

From luxury hotels to childcare

Aline has dedicated her entire life to service. “As a child, I absolutely wanted to work in grand hotels; it was my dream. Since I was well aware in the 1990s that there were few women in management positions, I gravitated towards a profession traditionally considered feminine. I became head housekeeper at Bernard Loiseau’s Côte d’Or,” recalls the woman who, at twenty-one, was already managing a team of about fifteen people responsible for guest reception and room cleaning. Having become assistant manager of an Accor hotel, she decided in her thirties to broaden her horizons: “I only knew how to serve and manage people, so I joined the Destia group, where I was one of the first agency managers. When they launched their franchise system, I took the plunge with Saperlipopette. We now offer our childcare services throughout the Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments.”

Relieving the burden on families and caregivers

What led Aline to specialize in caring for children with disabilities? “I had my epiphany while working with a family where they were looking after the older sister, then the mother gave birth to a little brother with a severe birth defect… he passed away after six months, but the caregiver who had been with them was there, an essential support, without judgment.” This is how the director launched the Autism+ service: “People imagine it’s like in the movie Forrest Gump, with children able to memorize endless number sequences. The reality on the ground is nothing like that; it involves many different disabilities, both mental and physical.” While we often talk about innovation in tech, what about the human element? Saperlipopette created the first specialized training program in autism spectrum disorders for caregivers in the department. To keep up with the pace, Aline cultivates her space for rejuvenation: "My partner and I both have demanding jobs, so we love to reconnect with the earth in our vegetable garden. I love watching my tomatoes grow, getting up in the morning to pick my beans, and the aromatic plants remind me of those my grandfather grew. I am also delighted to share these values ​​with my children."