Hero Burn Foundation
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
Hero Burn Foundation
A Non-Profit Organisation created to help burn survivors and their families in need & to create burn awareness at schools and underprivileged communities
All Burn Survivors are Heroes-battling through their own difficult emotional and physical daily struggle.. that few others in society can ever understand. Burn victims are easily shunned by others due to their physical appearance, and not given the opportunities or support they so desperately need and deserve.
"By creating this Foundation, Burn Heroes can reach out and support other Burn Victims ..."
Vision Statement
Hero Burn Foundation is striving to ensure the availability of a comprehensive program of Burn Related Services to Burn Survivors, their Families and all other South Africans.
Mission Statement
- We are dedicated in promoting the prevention of burns through burn awareness education and initiatives.
- Improving the quality of burn care through research and education.
- Supporting Burn Survivors and their families in all aspects of need.
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
Hero Burn Foundation
A Non-Profit Organisation created to help burn survivors and their families in need & to create burn awareness at schools and underprivileged communities
All Burn Survivors are Heroes-battling through their own difficult emotional and physical daily struggle.. that few others in society can ever understand. Burn victims are easily shunned by others due to their physical appearance, and not given the opportunities or support they so desperately need and deserve.
"By creating this Foundation, Burn Heroes can reach out and support other Burn Victims ..."
Vision Statement
Hero Burn Foundation is striving to ensure the availability of a comprehensive program of Burn Related Services to Burn Survivors, their Families and all other South Africans.
Mission Statement
- We are dedicated in promoting the prevention of burns through burn awareness education and initiatives.
- Improving the quality of burn care through research and education.
- Supporting Burn Survivors and their families in all aspects of need.
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
"The need is so incredibly high for a support group to reach out to burn victims and their families"
About Us
- The Founder of Hero Burn Foundation is a Burn Survivor after being involved in a light aircraft accident on the 18th of October 2008 near Lephalale, in which her husband rescued her from the burning wreck.
- A Non Profit Company to support other Burn Survivors and create Burn Awareness, was registered in Loving Memory of Mr Henk Du Plooy (09/06/1977 – 29/10/2008) who selflessly gave his life by shielding her from the flames. Henk sustained 75% 3rd degree severe burns as well as internal burns and passed away eleven days after the accident.
- Henk was a true Hero.
All Burn Survivors are Heroes – Battling through their own difficult, emotional and physical daily struggles that few others in society understands.
Due to personal experience, the Founder realised that Burn Survivors and their Families need intensive support after such an incident. Heroes are easily shunned by others due to their physical appearance and are not given the opportunities or support they so desperately need and deserve.
By creating this Foundation, the much needed support is provided to the Survivors and their families by preparing them for the long road ahead to recovery. Also by identifying and resolving shortcomings and obstacles in our medical and legal systems, the Foundation creates a platform in which the recovery process is faster and much more effective. Through the Foundation, Burn Heroes can reach out and Support other Burn Survivors who know and truly understands that a Severe Burn Injury is a Life Changing Experience in every aspect.
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
- Supporting visits to Burn Heroes and family members at hospitals, Rehab Centres, Therapists and Home – explaining the full impact and process of a Severe Burn Injury. This includes arrangement of alternative accommodation near the Burn or Level One Trauma Hospital.
- Telephonic Support on being contacted by the Public or Burn Survivors requesting help or advice regarding Burn Incidents and First Aid.
- Assisting Burn Survivors with their Injury Claims through Attorneys Van Der Wal Slade Ramabulana inc. They are committed in supporting HBF and assisting our Injury on Duty Burn Heroes with their claim paperwork as per Labour Law requirements.
- Burn Wound Care and sourcing of Wound Care Products to the less fortunate or those without a medical aid.
- Getting Social Workers involved in situations where needed after a Burn Injury was reported to HBF.
- Communication channels between Heroes and all Medical Departments kept alive by the Foundation to make sure the Heroes commit to all the medical treatments like Rehab, Physio- and Occupational Therapy, Emotional Wellbeing and Reconstructive Surgeries to follow for years to come. Being a Burn Survivor changes every aspect of your life forever and the Foundation helps these Heroes adapt and commit to the on going treatments which is now a part of their daily lives.
- Honouring our Heroes with their own Hero Trophies after they survived the most critical part in Burn ICU – These Trophies has a positive impact on their self worth upon leaving the hospital, reminding them that they are survivors.
- Comforting our Heroes with handmade blankets – Knitted Blocks are sent from all over the country to “Projek Kombersie” they then, with love and care, create Comfort Blankets – This is given when the Hero is out of ICU and still in the Burn Unit.
- Supplying Burn Survivors that no longer have any means of income due to their long stay in hospital with the African Dynamics supplement product B-Immune to build their immune systems and help with the healing of the wounds, especially after a skin graft.
- Where houses were destroyed in fires and the families lost all their possessions – HBF immediately establishes sizes for clothes needed. Through the Foundation we continuously collect second hand clothes, furniture and other household goods to be donated to the families where all was lost due to fire. HBF does not have storage facilities for this, and in collaboration with the Foundation “Plakkies and Pantoffels” (an association that supports cancer patients with clothes) we are currently sharing storage facilities for this in Centurion Pta.
Workmen’s Compensation Heroes:
A great number of the Heroes the Foundation supports are Injury on Duty Burn Survivors. This is one of HBF’s biggest concerns where low income factory or plant workers sustain severe burn injuries in mostly explosions at their place of work. While the Workmen’s Compensation Act pays for the medical expenses, Labour Law states that the employer only has to pay for the first 3 month’s salary until the Hero is deemed fit to return to work by all medical departments looking after the survivor. Most of these Heroes are the main income earners of their households. No income equals to no food on the table and no means of contact with their families.
Some of them are now in their 3rd year of recovery and still unable to work. HBF contacted two Advocates to help review the law regarding payment of salaries in these cases. Currently all injuries on duty are treated under exactly the same requirements. Claiming of a salary as a result of breaking a leg vs. sustaining severe burns needs to be re-evaluated, and the law regarding this needs to change.
HBF helps financially when donations to the Foundation is made, by purchasing grocery vouchers, airtime vouchers to contact family members, transport cost to and from the hospital, and toiletry bags for those that don’t even have toothpaste after an initial stay of 9 to 11 months in the Burn Unit. At the end of 2012 we have helped with school clothes and stationary for some of their children and second hand clothes for the rest of their families.
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
Learn not to Burn Program
- The Learn not to Burn Program was specially developed for use in Pre-Schools and Primary Schools.
- HBF is currently busy distributing this throughout the country by means of social media networks and e-mails.
- We request the schools to give us feedback when the program was introduced to the specific school in order for the foundation to Record Statistics on Awareness done.
How to Survive A Severe Burn Injury
- A Booklet on “How to survive a severe burn injury” was drawn up for use in Burn Hospitals. This booklet is however outdated and there is much needed and important information not included.
- Founder of HBF is, after a lot of research, in the process of developing an up to date guide for Burn Survivors and their families.
Woodlane Village – Pretoria East
Woodlane Is a community situated in Moreleta Park in the east of Pretoria. This community consists of almost 3000 people during the week. This is however, for most, not their primary home. Most of the residents in this community stay here during the week due to transport problems they have from their primary home to their daily place of work. This makes it difficult to correctly give the total number of residents. The population thus varies at any point in time.
The situation in Woodlane is very unique due to the fact that they are not allowed to build homes with anything other than plastic. For a long time there has been a court case in which there had to be decided if this community could stay where they are, or if they must be moved.
The village is divided into 31 blocks and the streets are divided by the required 6 meter of spacing in between.
The problem with this is that they may only build one shack per stand (using only plastic – thus Corex boards or builders plastic sheets), but over a weekend, when family members visits, new structures are built of up to 4 shacks per stand. This increases the fire hazard as these structures are so close together. One shack burns down in less than 60 seconds.
With the help of volunteers from the DR Church and the community , a reporting system were implemented to create some order. Each block has its own “Manager” that has to report back to the “Commissioner” who then reports back to the volunteers on duty for DR Moreleta. This system enables us to get some members of the community together from each block to do Burn Awareness Training together with basic First Aid training on a weekly basis. We then keep record of the names of the community members that were trained and in this way train the whole Village. When a shack does burn, the Manager advises the Commissioner whom then immediately calls the volunteers. The volunteer then contacts Hero Burn Foundation whom, if needed, actions a Medical response.
For the training we take the community members out of their environment by presenting the sessions at DR Moreleta in session rooms made available to Hero Burn Foundation. These training sessions are about 300m from their homes and are thus accessible for all members to attend.
We are also working on getting fully stocked First Aid Kits with sufficient Burn Shield available for this Village. This will be kept at the Church in the room made available to Hero Burn to act immediately and administer First aid as soon as a member of the Village sustained burns.
Training sessions will be done once or twice a week – Once for the adults and once for the kids. Every second weekend on a Saturday a training session will also take place. This will have a ripple effect of those visiting over the weekends to take this new knowledge into their communities when they return to their Primary homes after the weekend. We will take up to 50 members per training session.
Media
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
Our Wish List
Urgent funding needed to cover expenses and help heroes in need
- Monthly operational costs. This includes petrol, phone and internet costs, general office expenses and printing costs.
- Current financial assistance to Workmen’s Compensation Heroes per month.
- Purchasing of Wound Care Products when needed to those in need and underprivileged communities
- All other HBF initiatives to enhance the healing process – urgent financial assistance needed
Professional Commitments to The Foundation’s Comprehensive Program of Web Based Burn Related Services.
- Occupational Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Psychiatrists and Psychologists
- Workmen’s Compensation Representatives for Burn Survivors
- Legal Representation
- Centralised 0860 Help Line 24 Hours per day
Corporate Commitments to Hero Burn Foundation
- Sponsorship
- Financial Assistance
- Involvement in Community Awareness and Upliftment Projects
- Employment of Burn Survivors with restricted capabilities
Government Involvement
- Urgent attention to be given to poor Burn Care in State Hospitals
- Recording and compiling of Statistics surrounding Burn Causes and Burn Injuries
- The implementation of the “Learn not to Burn Program” at all Primary Schools
- Reviewing the Workmen’s Compensation Act regarding Burn Injuries
- Funding and Support in transforming HBF into a National Support Structure to all effected by Burns
Banking Details
Name of Account: |
Hero Burn Foundation |
Bank: |
Nedbank |
Branch: |
Woodlands |
Branch Code: |
187 505 |
Account Number: |
1047 234 327 |
All Burn Survivors are Heroes
Physical Address: No Street Address
Postal Address: No Postal Address
Postal Code: 0181
Telephone: +27(0)829021133
Fax: +27(0)
Email: info@heroburn.org
Website: http://www.heroburn.org
Directions: -
Latitude: -25.818452910769285
Longitude: 28.309364308370277