A warm welcome from colleagues ensured nurse Emmie felt part of her new team. But as a single mum to her struggling son and with no access to public funds, how would she thrive in her new country?

Growing up in the Philippines, Emmie wanted to be a teacher but her mother was keen that she trained to be a nurse. She qualified in 1997 and after a few different jobs, secured a role as a clinical educator, enjoying combining nursing and teaching and also studying for her Masters degree.

Emmie gave birth to her son but was soon trying to cope as a single parent, looking after herself and her child.

“After a few years on our own, I realised I needed to earn more as a nurse to support us” explains Emmie “so I took the difficult decision to work abroad in Saudi Arabia where the nursing pay was very good.”

Emmie wasn’t able to take her son to Saudi Arabia so her parents became his carers, with Emmie visiting regularly after each nursing contract had finished.

“But during the Covid-19 pandemic I felt very isolated” remembers Emmie “I longed to be with my son and I realised family was more important than anything else.”

Emmie had to think of a way to be with her son and still earn enough money as a nurse to support them both. Nursing opportunities in the Philippines were limited so she thought about working in the UK.

“I had always dreamed of going to the UK from an early age” says Emmie “At school, when I found out that a class mate had been to London to see Big Ben, I remember being so jealous! I vowed to one day see it myself.”

Emmie applied to work in the UK and passed the required tests, securing a nursing role in a children’s hospital in Birmingham. Coming to work in the UK means Emmie is working under a health worker visa, placing restrictions on making claims for public funds.

“I was excited to be working for the NHS as a children’s nurse and I received such a warm welcome from my new colleagues!” says Emmie.

“I love touching people’s lives, doing those small day-to-day things that patients and their parents appreciate so much and receiving warm appreciation for that.”

Once Emmie’s son had finished his primary education in the Philippines, he travelled to the UK to live with his mum and started at a new school.

“He was settling in and loved the WiFi!” says Emmie “In the Philipinnes the electricity and WiFi can be so unreliable where we are from.”

However, Emmie’s son soon started to suffer with depression and struggled with his mental health. They sought help from their GP and the children’s mental health team but Emmie felt bad about not being able to give her son enough attention.

“I’m not able to reduce my hours to spend more time with my son as I just can’t afford a drop in my wages. My boss has been able to adapt my working schedule so I can spend a bit more time at home with him. It’s so difficult juggling full time shift work with looking after my son.”

Along with the stress of her son’s mental health problems, Emmie was also finding life very expensive living in the UK. Under the rules of her health worker visa, Emmie cannot make any claim for benefits like Universal Credit that could help with living costs.

“It’s very stressful at times budgeting so carefully for myself and my son and I don’t have any time to work more hours to earn more money.”

Emmie applied to Cavell to see if the support team could help.

“The application process on the website was very straightforward” explains Emmie “and I felt that I could trust the Cavell support team and open up about my situation.

“I’m used to making-do with whatever money I can earn and I know I can’t claim any benefits from the government, so I was hesitant about applying to Cavell for money. I thought that for overseas nurses in my situation there wasn’t any help so assumed I had no chance.

“But when I got the message that Cavell could help, I just couldn’t believe it! I felt very comforted by the support I got from Cavell.”

The money from Cavell will help Emmie pay for essentials for her and her son like urgent bills and buying food to help them get back on track.

Emmie’s son is starting to feel more positive about his new home and is making friends at school.

“He had an invite recently to a friend’s birthday party, I was so pleased about that!”

Emmie is relieved there is an organisation like Cavell there for her and her colleagues and pleased that people want to support its work.

“I think it’s a blessing that there are people who want to spend their own money to support nurses and midwives through Cavell, when they could be spending that money on themselves. The value of what they give to Cavell will always be greater than the face-value of the money, no matter the size of the donation.

“It has meant so much to me to receive this support.”

If you would like to find out more about the support that Cavell offers, click here to visit the Cavell Support Hub.