Emma Jenkins - A Voice to the Voiceless

There are some people in this world that recognise a need in society and, despite the fact that they could have pursued other ambitions, they put themselves forward to fill that need. These are the same people that exchange the temptations of money for legacy and status for community, dedicating themselves to their cause. Emma Jenkins is one of these people, and her work at ‘Malamulele Onward’, a NGO that specialises in helping children in rural areas born with Cerebral Palsy receive sustainable care, reaches far beyond monetary ambitions, touching the hearts of many.

After ages of exchanging WhatsApp’s, we finally found a time that suits us both. Friday 28 July, at 17.00. The phone rings twice, and then Emma picks up. From the word go, she is as cheery as her Facebook page suggests (because of course I’ve stalked her, doing my research on what she’s all about outside of her work). Her voice is crisp and chirpy, exuding happiness. Immediately, there is no tension. It’s not an interview situation. It’s like I’ve called her to have a chat, casually asking how her day was, how she got into her line of work, what her hopes and dreams are… as if these are all the things that usually come up in a phone call. I’m eager to hear how she ended up as the person that she currently is, and she, in exchange, is open and willing to talk about it. With this mutual zeal, we begin our interview.

As the saying goes, if you choose a job that you love, you will never have to work a day in your life, but sometimes it’s not always that easy to choose a profession. The thought of doing something for the rest of your life can be very daunting. “After school, I didn’t know what I wanted to go and study,” explains Emma, “so my mom suggested that I try and apply for a course that was difficult to get into, and then we looked at physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy.” Before applying, she went to shadow a physiotherapist that she knew, and found that she was fascinated by the work. Unfortunately, Emma was not accepted into the university course, so she set her sights on something else. She was in her first week of varsity after being accepted into food management, when she suddenly received a phone call. “They had told me that I wasn’t on the waiting list, but then they phoned me and said that I’d made it in!” And Emma has never looked back since, going from strength to strength in her field.

She first became involved with the NGO ‘Malamulele Onward’ in her community service year, when she did an introductory course to Cerebral Palsy with them. “I looked at what they were doing, and I just thought to myself, ‘Wow! I would love to spend more time with this organisation.’” After seeing the year out, she worked as a locum, but was keen to become more involved with ‘Malamulele Onward”. She loved working with children, and found that she held a special captivation with neurological problems whilst studying, so she enquired about volunteering for the organisation. “I emailed my current boss, asking if I could come and volunteer, and she responded by saying that there was a job post available. I applied, went for an interview, and then I had to do two days of working at the organisation. A few days later they told me that I’d received the job.”

Emma began work with ‘Malamulele Onward’ in May 2015. She says that through her time there, it is interesting to see how the approach towards their work changed. “The very cool thing about our organisation is that we initially saw the children as a way of aiding the community, by helping the children in the best way that we knew (through therapy). The short-term results were amazing. However, the long-term results weren’t exactly the same. Now, our vision has changed. We’re a lot more focused on caregiver training to make sure that the children have better lives, and that it is sustainable.”

Emma now works there on a full-time basis as a physiotherapist and research assistant. She says that the thing she loves most about her job is experiencing how diverse South Africa is. She has even taken up learning some of our national languages, and can now speak basic Zulu as well as Sesotho. However, in any jobs, there are many challenges, and the emotional strain in Emma’s is particularly harsh. “At first, it was easy for me not to get involved,” she affirms, “but this year is quite tough for me, because I get involved in individual cases.” Having said this, she also states that in her line of work, she feels that she gets 100% job satisfaction every day. Through her work, she has had the opportunity to travel and see our beautiful country. “Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of the Eastern Cape outreaches, and I absolutely love the Wild Coast. There are such gorgeous views, and such beautiful people. One of my favourite places to go is Lesotho, where I’ve recently worked with a school.”

When Emma is not changing lives through her incredible work, she cites herself as an avid birder. A perk of her job is that wherever she travels, she also has the opportunity to familiarise herself with the indigenous birdlife, ticking them off of her ‘bird bucket list’. “The nice thing is that there are always birds everywhere – people just don’t always realise it,” she laughs.

Emma truly is a beautiful soul, and not only is she passionate about the work that she does, but she is incredible at it. Listening to her talk, I think about how heart-warming it is to be a voice to the children who previous had no voices of their own. I think of Emma as someone who means the world to the people with whom she works. Ever since she has started working, she has decided what was important to her, cherishing her work. Where others look and see nothing, she sees a wealth of riches that cannot be obtained with money, something that is instead a lot more needed and beautiful. Despite living in a world filled with people that hurtle towards their destinations, Emma will stop and pick flowers, admiring a beauty that other people will never have the time to see.