Caring beyond borders: From Mayo to South Africa, two young nurses are ready to make a difference
Emma Jennings and Edwina O'Brien are travelling to Gqeberha, South Africa today (Saturday, July 25) to volunteer with local schools and communities.
When Emma Jennings and Edwina O’Brien first met as student nurses, they quickly realised they had more in common than lecture notes and long placements. For them, nursing has always been about more than treating patients. It is about compassion, connection and making a difference wherever help is needed.
“We always wanted to help people,” Emma says simply.
Later this week, the two newly qualified nurses are taking that commitment halfway across the world, and will swap hospital wards for classrooms and community centres as they travel to Gqeberha, South Africa, to volunteer with children and families in disadvantaged communities.
The trip has been years in the making.
Both 24, Emma, from Shrule, Co. Mayo, and Edwina, from Tuam, Co. Galway, met while studying nursing in Donegal. Over four years of training, they became close friends, bonded by a shared desire to care for others and a dream that one day they would use their skills beyond Ireland.
“We always talked about doing something like this,” Emma says. “Nursing has shown us how important compassion and kindness are, and it inspired us to look beyond our own communities. We wanted to challenge ourselves, experience a different culture and hopefully make a positive difference.”
Today (Saturday, July 25), they will begin a two-week volunteer programme organised through United Through Sport, working across schools and childcare settings in the Nelson Mandela Bay area.
It is something they talked about throughout their four years of training together, but never imagined would come around so soon.
“We used to say we’d love to do something like this one day,” Emma says. “When the opportunity came up, we just knew we had to go.”
Their days will be varied. They will support teachers in classrooms, help children with reading and arts and crafts, coach sports, sing songs with younger children and assist with everyday childcare. While they won’t be working as nurses in the traditional sense, they know the skills they have learned over the past four years will be invaluable.
“We’ll be working with children from babies right up to teenagers,” says Edwina. “Nursing has taught us communication, patience, empathy and resilience. Those skills will be just as important there as they are at home.”
Neither has ever been to South Africa before, and both admit they are stepping well outside their comfort zone.
“We honestly don’t know what to expect,” Emma says. “It will probably be a huge culture shock. I think when we come home, we’ll have an even greater appreciation for what we have, but we also hope we’ll come back having learned so much from the children and the communities we’ll meet.”
While excited, they acknowledge the emotional challenges ahead.
“We’ll probably become so attached to the children,” Emma says. “It will be difficult leaving them behind. We’ll probably wish we could do more than we’re able to in two weeks, but hopefully this is only the beginning.”
Preparing for the journey has involved much more than packing a suitcase. Vaccinations, Garda vetting, travel arrangements and fundraising have all had to be organised, but they say the support they’ve received has made every step worthwhile.
The response from family, friends and the wider Mayo community has left both women overwhelmed.
“People have been incredibly generous,” says Edwina. “Our families, friends, work colleagues, even people we don’t know have donated or shared our fundraiser. It’s reminded us just how supportive our communities are.”
Funds raised beyond travel costs will go directly towards helping the communities they visit, whether that’s buying school supplies, sports equipment, books or hygiene products.
The two friends know two weeks won’t change the world, but they hope it might change them. Emma hopes their experience might also inspire others to volunteer abroad.
“We’ll probably come home better nurses,” Emma says. “But I think we’ll also come home with a different perspective on life.”
“You’re not going to change the world overnight,” she added. “It’s about showing kindness, giving your time and making a difference one person at a time. It can feel scary, but that’s often where you grow the most.”
And while this may be their first overseas volunteering experience, both already hope it won’t be their last.
“We’d love to do it again,” Emma says. “This trip is focused on education and childcare, but maybe next time we’ll volunteer as nurses in hospitals. We hope we come home not only as better nurses, but as better people.”
For Emma and Edwina, this journey isn’t about travelling to the other side of the world. It’s about living out the values that first drew them into nursing — kindness, compassion and showing up for people who need it most.
For two young women at the very beginning of their careers, that seems like the best kind of prescription for the future.
Those wishing to support Emma and Edwina’s volunteering journey and make a donation can visit their Go Fund Me page here.