Phoenix Burns Project | Helping Burn Survivors & their Families.

Phoenix Burns Project

Projects

Phoenix BEAR WITH YOUR REHAB project

Rehabilitation is a long and painful process for young burn survivors, who often have to return to hospital for a series of follow-up treatments. As a reward for their courage and to comfort them, we hand out a soft toy to each child on discharge from hospital and also on each subsequent follow-up visit. The toy is accompanied by a message to the care giver encouraging them to bring the child back for follow-up treatment.

We are grateful to our many anonymous donors for their gift of a soft toy and to our corporate supporters for arranging collections of toys on our behalf. You can support this programme by donating your unused soft toys, by collecting soft toys on our behalf, or by helping to clean and repair used soft toys. Please contact us if you want to make a donation or get involved.

PHOENIX Fire Recovery Kits

Imagine returning home to find that all your possessions have been lost in a fire. This is a stark reality for thousands of people in Cape Town every year. The Phoenix Fire Recovery Kit provides all the essentials to assist those who have just lost all their possessions in a fire. The Fire Recovery Kits come in a sturdy 100 litre plastic container that is large enough to double as a dry storage bin and can also be used as a baby bath. The container is filled with a large number of basic household items, toiletries, blankets, a small cooker, candles, and some basic foodstuffs for two people for several days. Each Fire Recovery Kit costs approximately R1800 (190 Euro).

You can support this project by sponsoring a Kit among your office or school friends, or by contributing in kind. To find out more click the "Contact" button above. To make a donation click the "Support Us" button above.

Information for parents of burn survivors

In the acute phase of treatment following a severe burn injury, parents are often anxious and bewildered and do not assimilate the information given to them by the medical staff. We provide resources for parents in hospital explaining the nature of their child's injury, the principles of treatment and the psychological and other rehabilitation issues. Our first booklet is currently being piloted in the Burns Unit at Red Cross Children's Hospital. It will be available in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. Portuguese and French versions are planned to assist immigrants from elsewhere in Africa as well. We also plan to produce a multi-lingual video to be shown to parents in the Burns Unit waiting area.

You can support this programme by sponsoring a language translation or a print run of one of these resources.

Rehabilitation and reintegration of burn survivors

Burn survivors are often marginalised by society. Young burn survivors are particularly vulnerable and become increasingly withdrawn as they reach their teen years, often dropping out of school. Ask yourself: "When last did I see a burn survivor in a public place?"

At Phoenix, we believe that no burn survivor should stand alone. We aim to support the reintegration of child burn survivors back into society in a variety of ways, such as:
• supporting reintegration back into school;
• encouraging peer-to-peer interactions through fun activities, such as sports camps;
• encouraging burn survivors to "get out" by arranging excursions to interesting places.

You can support this programme by sponsoring an outing or camp, by donating in cash or in kind, or by volunteering your time and talents. Please contact us for more information.

Advocacy on behalf of burn survivors

Phoenix strives to raise awareness of the challenges and difficulties faced by burn survivors. Severe burn inuries often render burn survivors effectively unemployable and therefore unable to earn their own livelihoods. Together with other stakeholders, Phoenix is working towards the recognition of severe burn injuries as a form of disability. Such recognition would pave the way for certain burn survivors to become eligible for disability grants.

Lobbying for regulatory changes to reduce risk of burn injury and for access to social support services for burn survivors requires accurate knowledge of the variety, distribution and numbers of burn injuries. In South Africa, there are no statistics collected on burn injuries on a systematic basis. Together with our partners, Phoenix is working on the collection of burn statistics. You can support this programme by volunteering your time and talents or by sponsoring the costs of data collection and analysis.

Burn awareness and prevention training

Burn injuries are the second-most common cause of mortality in South Africa for children under two years of age. The risk of burn injury can be greatly reduced by following safe practices. Phoenix offers training to community-based volunteers on:
• Safe use of electrical and paraffin appliances;
• How to minimise the risk of child burn injuries;
• What to do in the event that someone is burnt.

Through our partnership with the Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa, we are also able to offer the PASASA course for trainers, who can in turn offer such courses in their communities. If you would like us to arrange a burn prevention workshop or a training course for trainers in your community, please contact us for further information. You can help us to offer this training by sponsoring a training event. Please contact us for more information in this regard.

Phoenix Forum

The Phoenix Forum provides an opportunity several times a year for all stakeholders involved in the prevention of burn injuries in children, and in the treatment and rehabilitation of child burn survivors, to come together to discuss a holistic approach to various issues of mutual interest. The Forum aims to provide networking opportunities and to facilitate partnerships among the various stake holders. Each Forum addresses a particular topic or problem area of broad interest. Based on the discussions at the Forum, a follow-up project is identified for implementation by the Phoenix Burns Project and its partner organisations. The presentations delivered at each Forum are available here as a resource to the burns community. If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for future Forums, please contact us. If you would like to sponsor a Forum event, please contact us.