By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
In 2022, Sunshine Foundation launched a new training project with Hallym Burn Foundation in Korea. Over a four-year period, Sunshine will train burn professionals and burn survivors in highly specialized pressure garment production techniques, and provide guidance and technical support as our Korean partners set up their own pressure garment services.
“We finally meet in person!”
From April 7 to April 13, a team of Sunshine specialists visited Hallym Burn Foundation in Korea to carry out training on pressure garment fabrication techniques. Since the project started in 2022, this was the first time that trainers and trainees met in person. Indeed, due to the Covid-19 situation, the first trainings in 2022 were all held online, either using pre-recorded video lessons or using Zoom meetings.
This visit was an opportunity to get to know Hallym’s pressure garment team, visit their small pressure garment workshop, and provide hands-on technical training to help improve their measurement and sewing techniques.
Solving issues to ensure smooth development of the project
Over the last year, the burn survivors responsible for sewing pressure garments made important progress, considering that they literally started from scratch. But still, many issues and problems remain, and the goal of Sunshine’s team was to help solve these problems so that the project can continue to develop smoothly.
For example, we recommended adjustments to their sewing machines to ensure better quality stitches. Our seamstress also arranged special lessons to help the burn survivor seamstresses improve sewing skills. The team even went to Korea’s biggest wholesale fabric market to hunt for better tools and material like elastics, zippers, thread and scissors.
Because each burn survivor seamstress has a different level of familiarity using sewing machines, and because each have different functional limitations due to their burn injury, Sunshine’s seamstress also adjusted the training process to make sure that everyone handled tasks that matched their skills and functional level.
Meeting those who benefit from this project: the burn patients
This training would not have been possible without the participation of volunteer burn patients who acted as models for making pressure garments. With their help, trainees practiced how to take measurements to make pressure garment masks, and they also could practice how to make mask openings.
On the last day of training, we followed up with one of the models to see how he was adjusting to his new mask. The patient was very satisfied but more importantly, he felt proud to be part of this project. In his own way, he felt like he was contributing to improving burn rehabilitation for others like him.
By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
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