Board Bios - Emily Butler

My name is Emily Butler. I live in Leeds, England and have my whole life. I’m 19 years old and finished my A levels last year. In September I will be going to Manchester University to study Adult Nursing. I always knew I wanted to take a gap year because I wanted to have the chance to experience another culture and knew I would never get the chance to after university. I have always loved volunteering, and have been taking part in a variety of placements since I was in my mid-teens. I have been a member of the British Red Cross for 4 years now, and have taken part in various first aid duties. I have also done quite a bit of volunteering in a care home, as well as tutoring a young boy with Asperger's syndrome.

My classroom at Nkoaranga primary school

I have done a variety of volunteer work, but never in my life have I ever experienced anything like the work I did in those 6 months at Nkoaranga. Not only was I working in the orphanage, but I also taught a class of 75 children, aged between 10 and 14 years old, for 4 and a half months- this was such an incredible experience, terrifying at first, but so rewarding. Watching the children learn and improve was amazing, and it was so nice to know that this was due to my teaching.

Going on a gap year, everyone tells you that you will fall in love with the country you visit and make friends that you will know for the rest of your life, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m sure it will be lovely, but I seriously doubt that will happen’. I could not have been more wrong.

Living in Tanzania was, hands down, the greatest experience of my life. I met such incredible and inspiring friends in Africa, and I know I will know them for the rest of my life. The children at the orphanage were the most beautiful, little individuals I had ever met and it was impossible for me not to fall in love with every single one of them. Watching the children grow and knowing that I was one of the first people to see Gracie sit up, Ester's first steps and Zawadi overcoming rickets and walking without any assistance was so special and I count myself as the luckiest person alive to have been given the chance to experience that and encourage the children along the way.

Simoni giggling, as usual!

Working at the orphanage was incredibly challenging; I never knew it was possible to experience such a range of emotions in one day. Joy when the kids ran up to me and hugged me as I first walked into the orphanage each morning, annoyance when the kids were being a little bit too cheeky, fear when a child was crying, happiness when I saw their beautiful smiles and finally, love, always love. No matter how hard the day was, there was always an unbelievable amount of love.

Me and our beautiful big helper, Farajah

The only way I was able to leave Nkoaranga Orphanage was knowing that I would be back to visit as soon and as often as possible. Being part of The Small Things gives me a way of helping the children, even when I’m such a long distance from them. It gives me a connection that I am so grateful for. I love knowing that any work I do over here can help those incredible balls of energy that are so far away.

I am currently spending every day working towards earning enough money to go back and visit the children, but, until then, I will continue to work with The Small Things to help to look after our wonderful children from an entirely different continent. You don’t understand how grateful I am for the work everyone is doing to protect and care for these beautiful children. I want to thank all of you for supporting and helping the The Small Things- you, the volunteers, the mamas and the board members of The Small Things are the reason our children are safe. The reason they are still smiling and making us laugh in so many different ways. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Everything we do is for the people at Nkoaranga and, though we can do no great things, everything we do is done with an amazing amount of love.

Best friends - Farajah (left) and Dainess