Give burn survivors access to rehabilitation

Andrea is a curious 3-year old little girl who likes to play with bright, colorful toys. One day, her parents were burning garbage in their backyard. Andrea had seen her mother use a stick before to poke the burning garbage and tried doing the same. Among the garbage, a shiny piece of blue plastic caught her attention and she reached out her hand to grab it. The hot plastic left deep second and third degree burns on her hand...

Small children have a tendency to explore their environment by touching or grabbing things with their hands. That’s how they learn about the world, grow and develop. Unfortunately, for many children in Central America, this kind of exploration is fraught with danger. Indeed, children under 5 years old account for 70% of burns in the region and hand burns are a leading cause of injury. Whether it is a scald or a contact burn, the injury requires special attention in order to preserve and restore full hand function. Otherwise, limited hand function can delay or impair the development of the child and severely restrict his ability to carry out activities of daily living independently or his ability to play. That is why Sunshine is launching with its local partner APROQUEN a new training program in Latin America that will focus on hand rehabilitation.

Initiated in 2011, Sunshine and APROQUEN’s partnership aims to carry out trainings to build the skills of local burn therapists. The first training program from 2011 to 2014 focused on teaching pressure garment production skills to therapists and seamstresses from five Central America countries. Now, this new two-year program will focus specifically on the rehabilitation management of the burned hand. Through a combination of theoretical lectures, case study presentations, demonstration with patients and practice, therapists from five Central American countries and two South American countries (1) will learn about common problems and complications of the burned hand – their causes, as well as preventive and corrective methods; principles for the evaluation of the burned hand and development of a therapeutic intervention; as well as fabrication and application of splints. Through this training, it is hoped that therapists will have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide the best care possible, allowing children like little Andrea to regain full hand function.

Sunshine’s team of experienced therapists is looking forward to returning to Nicaragua and share with our Latin America counterparts. Your support over the years has been crucial in allowing us to carry out capacity building programs in Central America and India, and each of your donations is a step toward improving rehabilitation services for burn survivors in these regions. We now invite you to make your donation achieve an even greater impact by participating in GlobalGiving’s Bonus Day. Starting on June 15 at 9:00am US Eastern time (June 15 at 21:00 Taiwan time), GlobalGiving will be matching gifts made to Sunshine Foundation.

Support Sunshine’s efforts to give burn survivors in Taiwan access to rehabilitation:
https://goto.gg/12976

When does Bonus Day take place?:
US Eastern Time: June 15 at 9:00am to June 15 at 11:59pm or until funds run out.
Taiwan time: June 15 at 9:00pm to June 16 at 11:59am

How will GlobalGiving be matching funds?:
A total of US$110,000 is available as matching funds.
Sunshine will be eligible to receive a 50% match on online donations.

What is the maximum amount for a single donation that is eligible to be matched?:
Online donations of up to $1,000 per individual donor per organization are eligible to be matched.

How can I donate?:
Only online donations made by credit card, PayPal, or a GlobalGiving official gift card are eligible for matching. Donations made by check or text-to-give are not eligible.

(1) Participating countries include Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Salvador, Colombia and Peru.