Gemma was just a teenager when she flew out to Kenya to volunteer in an orphanage. When the orphanage closed due to financial reasons, Gemma, moved by love for the children, returned to Uist and began to raise funds to build a new orphanage.

The new orphanage was completed in 2012 and is home to 24 young people. Gemma has faced huge opposition and had to flee with the children after a group of machete-wielding armed robbers raided the orphanage.

This did not stop Gemma and work on a new children's home is set to begin in September, relocating the orphanage to a safer area.

The new building is being built in memory of her school friend Liam Aitchison who was murdered in 2011.

Gemma juggles her life in Africa with being a student at Glasgow's Caledonian University where she is studying occupational therapy. Her friends and family say she is a true hero transforming lives in another part of the world and inspiring young people here.

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