Board Bios - Megan Williams

From left: Abdulli, me, Farajah, Stevie,
and Andrea (under the hat!) 

My name is Megan Williams. I am a student from Manchester in Northern England and I'm just starting my degree in Politics, Sociology and Psychology at university this year. I have never wanted to go straight to university; taking a year to see and do completely different things isn’t something you often get a chance to do. I was in Tanzania from January to July 2011 on placement in Nkoaranga with Emily, Emma, Bethan and other volunteers with a company called Oyster. Our placement was technically a teaching placement in the local Primary School. I absolutely loved teaching, but we were only teaching one English lesson a day, either a 40 minute single or an 80 minute double. Gradually we became more and more involved in the orphanage.

Although I loved visiting, for me really feeling part of the orphanage was a gradual process. Other volunteers got very attached to the place and the children very quickly, but for me it took a bit longer. I found it difficult initially when I felt I didn’t know what was going on or what to do. I hated feeling like I wasn’t being useful or helpful to the mamas. It was definitely worth sticking with though, because as I got to know the children, the orphanage and how life runs there, I grew in confidence and learned to love it so much. By the end I was turning up at 6am, choosing to be there to help with one of the most demanding shifts of the day – waking up, bathing, dressing and breakfast. It became my favourite part of the orphanage day, despite the fact that it was hectic and often stressful. By 8.30 in the morning I could feel that I had actually done something that needed doing.

Fashionable with Farajah

What volunteers do at the orphanage is amazing for the children. It’s not just that the children learn your name and want to play with you, although that’s great; it’s that they start to trust you. When they are upset they come to you not to tell tales or complain but just for comfort. When they are having an off day they just want to stay with you, and when they’ve done something good they are bursting to tell you. It’s that side of the relationship with them I valued the most, much as all the fun and games and tears are wonderful. Playing with them and feeding them and looking after them is extremely rewarding, but the times I felt like I’d given them something were the times they came to me upset and I was able to make them feel better, or when they came to me proud of themselves and were bursting with happiness when I agreed they’d done well.

One occasion that sticks out in my mind was during my last week with the children. We were just getting towards the end of the early shift and everyone was dressed and in the playroom waiting to go to school. Somehow Saimoni trapped his finger in the wooden playpen and he must have done it hard, because his finger was literally flat for ages and then started to swell up. Of course, it must have been hurting him a lot and he was upset. He came and sat on my knee and I tried to distract him from it, and by the time I needed to leave his finger was back to normal size and he’d brightened up. When I told him I had to go he started clinging to me and wouldn’t let me leave, although he seemed fine about his finger. I was late for where I was going, but also really touched by the way he didn’t want me to leave him, even though he’d recovered from his accident.

Of course the relationship that volunteers build with the children is very important and special, particularly as the huge demands on the mamas often mean that they don’t have time to play and cuddle and push swings for hours on end. Of course it’s important that volunteers do as much as they can for the children, but another whole set of my favourite times at the orphanage are the times I could be sure that the mamas had really appreciated my help. I was always worried at the beginning that the mamas didn’t feel we were much help; that they thought we were just there to play with the children and have fun, but not to do any of the actual work. Over time, as I learnt how day-to-day life at the orphanage works, I hope I became more useful to them. I really think that you can grow in the eyes of the mamas just by voluntarily starting to sweep or wipe up after a meal before they’ve started doing it. It shows that you know what needs to be done, but also that you don’t expect them to automatically do it. This is so important because they would never dream of actually asking you to do it. The moments I felt most accepted by the mamas are very important to my memories of the orphanage; by the end they would greet me by name, ask me to do things and include me when they made chai for each other.

Simoni in backwards overalls

Both Emily and I left the orphanage to return to England at bedtime on our last day in Tanzania. It was very difficult to say goodbye, which meant that 2 nights running the mamas had a crying volunteer on their hands after we’d said goodnight. Of course, it was 2 different sets of mamas on shift the 2 nights, but all of them were so genuinely caring and honestly seemed sad to see us go. When they said ‘Karibu tena Tanzania’ as we left (Welcome again to Tanzania) I really felt they’d be glad to see us come back. The way to the mamas’ hearts is not just to help them with the harder work and show an interest in them, it’s also to show them that you really care about the children who are so important to them and who they spend their lives giving so much to.

I think that one of the most important things The Small Things can do is provide a secure future for the children once they reach 5 and leave the orphanage. It’s crucial that they get to go to school and are happy and well-cared for, as most of them don’t really have much of a family situation to go back to. By giving them education that they would never otherwise get, the Small Things and the children’s sponsors can change their whole lives, as well as their first 5 years. Equally important to me is that the mamas feel supported and helped by the Small Things. They are an incredible group of women and anything we can do to make their lives easier and better is so, so worth it.

As for me, currently I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back to the orphanage or not. I would love to go, and I will be hanging on the stories of my fellow board-members who are going at Christmas. I wish I could be going too. I know that there is so much the Small Things can do in Nkoaranga and I am so happy that I’m able to be part of it even from home. It means that if I don’t get the opportunity to go back I can support and help the orphanage. Nkoaranga has given me so much: experience, confidence, wonderful new relationships. I’m glad that through the Small Things I can still give something to the orphanage that became such a huge part of my life.

Cuddling with Stevie (rear) and Dainess