Rehabilitation for burn survivors in Taiwan

We invite you to support Sunshine Foundation’s efforts to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to burn survivors in Taiwan by donating to our project Rehabilitation for burn survivors in Taiwan during the July 12 Global Giving Bonus Day. Here is the story of one of our therapists and how you support her work with burn survivors.

“Burn survivors are always on mind, I’ll think about the rehabilitation plan of this client or the contracting scars of that client.”

                                                           - Shih-Yuan, Occupational Therapist

Shih-Yuan is an Occupation Therapist at Sunshine Foundation, she’s not yet 30 years old but she already has accumulated 7 years of experience at Sunshine Foundation. After the 2014 Kaohsiung Gas Explosion and the 2015 Formosa Fun Coast Waterpark Dust Explosion, she’s been constantly traveling across the country, down south and up north, to provide physical rehabilitation to the burn victims.

“Burn survivors and I all learn together.” Shih-Yuan sees the process of accompanying burn survivors throughout their rehabilitation as a learning opportunity: this means finding new ways to motivate them, to encourage them, to make sure that they continue making progress, but also learning how to empathize with their pain and struggle. When she sees burn survivors who are not putting enough efforts into their rehabilitation, she will feel nervous: “Sometimes I’m more nervous than they are because I’m worried that all their previous efforts will be wasted.” That’s because scars are relentless, they grow and contract 24 hours a day, so to sustain the progress made today, continuous efforts must be made.

Apart from rehabilitation at Sunshine’s Rehabilitation Center, Shih-Yuan also believes that leisure activities are important for burn survivors so she will often organize various activities to encourage the social adaptation of burn survivors. She even took a group of clients to climb some of Taiwan’s highest mountains like Mt. Hehuan, thus allowing burn survivors to discover their potential. Shih-Yuan says: “On the long road of life, I will accompany burn survivors for just a short distance. In the end, they are in charge of their destiny.” But for that short period of time, Shih-Yuan can help them find ways to learn how to live fully and happily.

The efforts of dedicated professionals like Shih-Yuan would not be possible without your support! Your donation makes sure that all year round, Sunshine Foundation is able to provide to burn survivors without interruption as much physical rehabilitation as they need to ensure their recovery.

Now, during GlobalGiving’s Bonus Day on July 12, you have the chance to maximize the value of your support because GlobalGiving will be matching gifts made to Sunshine Foundation at 50% until funds run out! This means that your donation of $100 will receive a $50 match!

Mark the Bonus Day date on your calendar!!!

Taiwan time: from Wednesday, July 12 at 9:00 PM to Thursday, July 13 at 11:59 AM.

US time: from Wednesday, July 12 at 9:00 AM EST to Wednesday, July 12 at 11:59 PM EST

There will be $110,000 in matching funds available on this Bonus Day.

Online one-time donations of up to $1,000 per unique donor per organization are eligible to be matched on Bonus Day.

New recurring donations up to $100 per donor per project on Bonus Day will get an additional 100% match on the initial donation as long as it remains active for three months. The recurring match offer will be good throughout the entire Bonus Day.

PS: We encourage you to make your donation early, because matching funds will likely run out before the end of the day.

As Sunshine Foundation celebrates its 35^th anniversary in 2017, we look at the professionals who help burn survivors move forward on the road towards rehabilitation and recovery.

“The troughs of life are an ordeal that can shape us. My hope is that I can accompany burn survivors through this difficult period in their life.”
                                                         -          Maggie, Counseling Psychologist

Maggie has been working at Sunshine Foundation as a Counseling Psychologist for over ten years: “I love working with people. Hearing burn survivors tell their stories allows me to see the diversity in this world.” Of course, the role of a psychologist is not just about listening to people’s stories, it’s also about helping them find ways to achieve self- growth and change. “I won’t presuppose anything before a consultation. Instead, I will listen attentively to what kind of life experience burn survivors bring to the table and then take it from there.” Maggie starts from the perspective of the burn survivor and uses empathy to accompany him or her throughout the healing process, all while setting goals for self-growth.

As part of her work, Maggie must often support burn survivors through their mood swings during the course of physical rehabilitation. And even though she is the one providing counseling, burn survivors often take care of her. Once when she had a cold, one of her clients reminded her to take good care of herself. This relationship where they mutually show concern for one another is a source of joy and gives Maggie the strength to continue devoting her efforts to helping burn survivors rediscover their inner strength and capabilities.

Maggie points out that with psychological counseling, you cannot rush things, you need to take it one step at a time and slowly let burn survivors walk out of the troughs of life. But once they are able to do it, their growth is an immense source of happiness and pride.

Thanks to Counseling Psychologists like Maggie, Sunshine Foundation is able to help burn survivors progressively regain the ability to face the world with confidence.