Everything Changed with Rosie Fawehimi

Letty McMaster was 18 years old when she travelled to Tanzania to volunteer at an orphanage. What she found there stopped her in her tracks. The children were being kept in deliberate poverty -- a cycle of neglect designed to attract donations from Western volunteers, with the staff taking the money for themselves. Letty stayed. She learned Swahili. She exposed the abuse. When the local council shut the orphanage down, she was registered as the legal guardian of nine children who had nowhere to go. She was 22 years old.
Over the next ten years, Letty raised fifteen children in a family home she set up and ran herself in Tanzania. She founded Street Children Iringa, which now supports three houses -- a family home, a safe house welcoming over 100 street children a year, and a newly opened home for young mothers living on the streets. The children she raised have gone on to university, professional boxing, and international football. One of them achieved the best A-level results in the country and is now studying civil engineering at the University of Cape Town.
This is one of the most remarkable stories we have heard on Everything Changed.
To support Street Children Iringa visit www.streetchildreniringa.org or find them on Instagram at @streetchildreniringa.
This episode is brought to you by RevitaLash Cosmetics. RevitaLash was founded by a physician who created a lash serum for his wife during her breast cancer treatment -- because he wanted her to feel like herself again. Find them at revitalash.co.uk. ✨
00:00 Cold open00:59 Rosie's intro01:26 Life at 18 -- A-levels, saving up, the plan to volunteer01:42 Arriving at the orphanage -- and what Letty found01:52 The voluntourism business -- how the cycle of abuse worked03:34 How long did she stay?04:02 Learning Swahili -- and why it changed everything05:11 Were the children really orphans?05:54 Becoming legal guardian to nine children at 2207:38 Opening the home09:22 The challenges of raising fifteen teenagers10:23 Founding Street Children Iringa10:57 The three houses12:41 Why are there so many street children in Tanzania?13:30 The girl who ran away with her newborn at 1114:32 Life now -- splitting time between London and Tanzania15:45 How to support the charity -- and what 300 pounds does17:54 The children ten years on -- civil engineering, boxing, Real Madrid21:29 Why Letty takes no volunteers23:14 What would you say to your 18-year-old self?24:13 Did you ever feel scared or threatened?24:35 How the children shaped her25:15 Did you always want to help children?26:17 Find Street Children Iringa
Everything Changed on Instagram: instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b

Kreena Dhiman. Diagnosed with breast cancer at 33. Told she may never have children. Here she is today with four.In this episode Kreena talks about fighting her oncologist for the right to freeze her embryos before chemotherapy, navigating the NHS postcode lottery for IVF funding while going through treatment, and the heart failure diagnosis on holiday that nearly killed her three years after her cancer treatment ended.And then, through surrogacy and egg donation, how she built a family of four anyway.This is one of the most determined and quietly extraordinary women we have ever spoken to.⚠️ This episode contains discussions of serious illness, infertility, and near death.💛 This episode is sponsored by RevitaLash CosmeticsRevitaLash was created by ophthalmologist Dr Michael Brinkenhoff for his wife Gayle during her breast cancer journey, because feeling confident and beautiful matters, especially when life is hard. Now trusted in over 70 countries and having donated more than $13 million to breast cancer initiatives, RevitaLash is a brand built on strength, love, and giving back.Visit revitalash.co.uk to find out more.📌 Chapters0:00 Open0:24 A word from our sponsor1:33 Meet Kreena2:02 The fertility conversation nobody had with her3:11 Fighting for the right to freeze her embryos5:48 The NHS funding battle6:50 Waiting to try8:15 Discovering surrogacy9:09 The cultural shame nobody talks about11:28 Heart failure on holiday14:27 Back to surrogacy16:51 Finding her first surrogate19:00 The embryo clinic error23:14 The pregnancy test video24:57 Her daughter is born25:19 No embryos left26:40 Egg donation in South Africa29:09 Meeting her donor in Cyprus30:08 Finding Laura31:43 Transferring to Laura32:28 Triplets36:01 Born ten weeks early in lockdown37:58 "I wouldn't have them without breast cancer"41:09 Advice for women facing infertility42:55 The Intended Parent podcast📲 Follow Kreena:instagram.com/kreenadhiman/📲 Follow Everything Changed:instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b

She lost two sons in one year. This is how she survived.
Carly Smith is a mother of five. In the last two years she has lost two sons. Morgan, who she loved as her own from the moment she met him. And Barnie, her beautiful non-verbal autistic boy, whose heart now beats inside a fifteen year old girl somewhere in the UK.
In this episode Carly talks about the love that built her family, the grief that nearly broke it, and the quiet signs that have kept her going.
Have tissues close by.
⚠️ This episode contains discussions of child loss, grief, and suicidal thoughts. Please take care of yourself while listening.
💛 This episode is sponsored by RevitaLash Cosmetics
RevitaLash was created by ophthalmologist Dr Michael Brinkenhoff for his wife Gayle during her breast cancer journey, because feeling confident and beautiful matters, especially when life is hard. Now trusted in over 70 countries and having donated more than $13 million to breast cancer initiatives, RevitaLash is a brand built on strength, love, and giving back.
Visit revitalash.com to find out more.
📌 Chapters
0:00 Cold open
0:24 A word from our sponsor
1:03 Meet Carly
1:55 Barnie's diagnosis
3:33 The first seizure
4:18 The IVF journey
12:26 Meet Morgan
13:11 The phone call
21:29 The anniversary
24:58 Great Ormond Street
26:09 The decision
27:06 The sign
29:18 "I need you too"
31:10 Finding a reason to keep going
📲 Follow Carly:instagram.com/carlylousmith83
📲 Follow Everything Changed:instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcast
🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b

✨ This episode is sponsored by RevitaLash Cosmetics.
Rosie has partnered with RevitaLash, the original lash conditioning brand, to bring you a special offer.
Use code ROSIE20 for 20% off your order at revitalash.co.uk.
Thank you to RevitaLash for supporting Everything Changed.

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When Nicola Whitbread-Hastings became a mother, she expected the “typical” experience. Instead, she was thrust into a world of medical terminology, 24/7 care, and a diagnosis so rare there are only a few hundred cases worldwide.

In this episode of Everything Changed, Nicola joins us to share the raw, unfiltered reality of raising her son, Rudy, who lives with MCAHS1, a genetic condition that causes epilepsy, visual impairment, and profound physical disability.

In this episode we discuss:

* The COVID diagnosis
Navigating the terrifying first weeks of lockdown while realising something was wrong.

* Finding out both she and her husband carried the same rare gene.

* The survival instinct
Why she had to emotionally detach from her second pregnancy to survive the weight of a potential second diagnosis.

* Milestones vs inchstones
The beautiful, small victories that mean everything.

This is a story about resilience, the fight of a special-needs parent, and how the arrival of her second son, Dexter, helped their family rediscover laughter in the chaos.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Haven House Children’s Hospice: https://www.havenhouse.org.uk/
Follow Rudy’s journey on Instagram: @rudysw0rld

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Timestamps

00:00 – Highlights: The moment everything changed
02:15 – The first signs and the COVID lockdown
08:50 – Getting the MCAHS1 diagnosis
16:10 – The heartbreaking reality of the second pregnancy
21:45 – The IVF journey and travelling to Barcelona
25:30 – Dexter: finding joy in “typical” motherhood
34:00 – Advice for parents facing a new diagnosis

✨ Sponsored by RevitaLash Cosmetics ✨

This episode is proudly sponsored by RevitaLash Cosmetics 💗
Founded by Dr Michael Brinkenhoff to help his wife feel more beautiful during her battle with breast cancer, RevitaLash is best known for its clinically tested RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Serum.

A portion of every purchase supports global breast cancer research, including studies at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

Thank you to RevitaLash for supporting Everything Changed.

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🎙️ Everything Changed | Carly Chan’s story

In this episode, Rosie speaks to Carly Chan, who shares the reality of pregnancy sickness that became life-threatening and why giving birth was not the end of her struggle.

Just weeks into pregnancy, Carly developed hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a severe condition that left her bedridden, dehydrated, and unable to function. What’s often dismissed as “bad morning sickness” became months of relentless nausea, isolation, and a devastating impact on her mental health.

Carly speaks honestly about:
* Losing her sense of identity
* Feeling trapped in her own body
* Experiencing suicidal thoughts, not because she didn’t want her baby, but because she desperately wanted the sickness to stop

Although the physical symptoms ended as soon as her son was born, Carly explains how she struggled to bond with him, feeling intense fear, anxiety, and shame in the early days of motherhood.

With support from friends, her husband, and specialist perinatal mental health services, Carly made the terrifying but life-changing decision to enter a Mother and Baby Unit, where she received intensive support for severe postnatal anxiety and depression.

This is a powerful, honest conversation about pregnancy, postnatal mental health, and why asking for help can be lifesaving.

If this episode resonates with you, you are not alone.

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⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 “I felt suicidal during pregnancy”
00:36 Meeting Carly and the start of her story
01:58 When pregnancy sickness suddenly took over
04:19 Hospital visits, dehydration and being dismissed
06:12 Diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)
09:49 Giving birth and expecting everything to be okay
10:15 Struggling to bond with her newborn
13:24 Reaching breaking point and suicidal thoughts
15:32 Friends stepping in when Carly couldn’t cope
18:48 The moment she realised she needed more help
19:48 Being told she needed a Mother and Baby Unit
21:57 The first night alone with her baby
24:14 Treatment, exposure therapy and recovery
29:28 How this changed her decision to have more children
32:00 Carly’s message to anyone struggling
33:07 Finding strength, endurance and pride

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🧡 Support and resources

If you are struggling during pregnancy or after birth, these organisations can help:

🤍 Pregnancy Sickness Support
https://pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk
Support, information, and peer mentoring for people experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum and severe pregnancy sickness.

💛 PANDAS Foundation
https://pandasfoundation.org.uk
Support for parents and families affected by perinatal mental illness, including postnatal depression and anxiety.