BYU-Hawaii graduate Ema Billings has done a lot with her diploma in international cultural studies since graduating in 2009, as evidenced through her work in Nigeria as a peacebuilder, her efforts volunteering with orphanages, and her work with nonprofit organizations.
From age seven, Billings has had a desire to help people, yet wasn’t sure how. She said that she watched a campaign for a famine in Ethiopia and told her family, “Someday I want to help people. I want to help children.”
Billings has worked with a lot of different organizations, including Search for Common Ground, The New Era, Scripture Union West Africa, and more. She worked with Raj Kumar, the president of the Gandhi International Institute for Peace in Hawaii. “She was very good,” said Kumar. “She was hardworking and she brought a lot of new ideas to the board. We appointed her to board director and after a year and half she went to Africa.”
Billings went to Africa doing contracts with Search for Common Ground, an international non-profit organization that works to change how the world deals with conflict, according to their website.
Billings worked with orphans and youth in Nigeria. She has helped them better their situation through building a security wall and raising money for clothing and food.
“When France had the bombing, people were terrorized and there were 15 people who died. That went global,” Billings said. “In Nigeria, we have that activity happening all the time. It isn’t always hit; it doesn’t always get attention.
“My hope is that people recognize that humanity exists all over the world; it doesn’t matter if we’re Nigerian or Mexican or Euro American. We always need to be working on conflict transformation because whatever happens in any part of the world affects all people,” she continued.
“The power of love and what it can do - it’s really poignant,” Billings said about the orphans she worked with in Nigeria. “You can see the youth that come to the orphanage are extremely violent and intolerant because of the experiences they’ve had. And you see a transformation of how, through love and support and honoring dignity, they become charitable and really lovely, and the way they deal with conflict is different.”
The city Billings stayed in Nigeria was bombed by Boko Haram while she was working with Search for Common Ground. She said children lived in fear every day that they were going to be kidnapped by Boko Haram. When 200 girls were kidnapped in Nigeria, it went viral with the hashtag #bringbackourgirls. This, however, did not help the entire problem.
“The 200 girls that were kidnapped were just a few of the girls kidnapped. There are hundreds, thousands. And before those 200 went viral, and even after, there were over a hundred girls kidnapped,” said Billings. “These girls, tragically, are still missing and we have thousands of other people that have been killed or displaced–actually millions at this point. And it is absolutely our responsibility as human beings to be each other’s keeper. We can’t turn a blind eye.”
Billings started her path at North Seattle Community College, where she took integrated studies. She then continued at BYUH, taking international cultural studies classes. “It was at BYUH that the vision became clear of working as a peace builder and then at the Center for Justice and Peace Building,” said Billings. “I remember the day I walked into my advisors office, and said, ‘I know I’m not 20 years old, or even 30 for that matter. I’m in my 40s, but I really want to do this.’ And he said, ‘Ema, that’s half the battle. So if you want to do this, just do it.’”
Billings said she also does backpack drives with Madrona Elementary in Washington State. She has worked with youth and developed a theory of change: “If you love, support, and honor the dignity of youth, then they will become viable members of their community and positive citizens of change.”
Billings said she considered doing humanitarian law to fulfill her desire to help people, but a trip to the Middle East changed her mind. She traveled all over Israel and had eye-opening experiences with the Palestinian occupation. “When I first [went] to Palestine... I was really heartbroken when I realized how as an American I had more rights than Palestinian people had living under occupation,” she said.
One day, as she helped a family in East Jerusalem pick olives, she looked out to the Old City. “I could see the city and I just had this really miraculous experience where I felt that Heavenly Father said, ‘Ema, you are exactly where you are meant to be. The path that you are on is the path you need to pursue.’”
