Children Of Fire—

South African Charity Group Seeks Volunteers And Support

By Nancy K. Crevier

Julia and Vance Provey, their 8-year-old daughter, Eva, and teenagers Olivia and Will, had special visitors to their Sandy Hook home earlier this summer. Sizwe Hlophe, also 8 years old, of South Africa, arrived with Bronwen Jones, director and founder of Children of Fire, a British-based charitable group dedicated to helping young burns survivors in Africa.

Children of Fire grew from Ms Jones’ interaction with a badly burned infant she encountered in 1995, shortly after arriving in the country with her now ex-husband. The child was barely surviving, but through fundraising efforts by Ms Jones, the child, Dorah Mokoena, received the medical attention and reconstructive surgery she needed.

Horrified by the great numbers of children that she discovered were suffering from fire injuries, she went on to found Children of Fire. With squatter’s camps not uncommon, and the very poor of Africa relying on paraffin to heat and for light, the probability of injury by fire is high. It is often children who are the burned.

Children of Fire International is registered in England and Wales, and in South Africa, and it was one of Ms Jones’ goals when she arrived for a ten-day visit to the New York City area to start the process of registering the organization in the United States.

Ms Jones and Sizwe were guests of Lucy Sikes, Ms Provey’s mother, in Brooklyn, N.Y. A Quaker, Ms Sikes had heard about the arrival of Ms Jones and Sizwe through her Quaker meeting group, and offered to host the two while they were in the United States. “My mother has an open door, you could say,” said Ms Provey, “and often has guests from different places in her home. She was happy to have Bronwen and Sizwe.”

Sizwe is an energetic young man who is recovering from severe burns allegedly sustained at the hands of his mother when he was a toddler. He was removed from his birth home at age 4 and has been in the care of Children of Fire since, with hopes that he will one day be adopted into a permanent home.

Most of Sizwe’s hair is missing, and his left hand and arm were severely burned. His left ear was severely damaged and the burns caused eyelid contractures that leave him unable to completely close his eyes. He has undergone at least six surgeries through the generosity of time and skills by surgeons who volunteer with Children of Fire, and continues to explore the options for his future, said Ms Jones. As he grows, many other surgeries will probably be required.

Sizwe met with a doctor in New York who suggested a toe transplant to replace his little finger on the left hand. The little finger does not bend and the index finger movement is restricted. It would not be so much of a problem, except for Sizwe’s aspirations: he needs the dexterity of the fingers on the hand improved so that he can play the piano. “His heart’s desire is to attend the Drakensberg Boys Choir School in South Africa in January of 2010, when he turns 9 years old,” explained Ms Jones. He also has his eye on one day becoming a chef; South Africa’s Sowetan newspaper earlier this year dubbed Sizwe “the singing chef” when they featured his story.

“Logistically, let alone costwise, there are no easy decisions to make,” said Ms Jones, who added that Sizwe is mulling over the pros and cons of a better-functioning hand vs being a four-toed boy. Surgery in the United States would also require a local host family before, during, and after surgery. It is her hope that should Sizwe decide to go through with that surgery, that the generous spirit normally shown by Americans and others who support the foundation would enable him to do so.

The better part of the ten days in the United States was spent visiting hospitals and meeting with doctors, but just discovering the American culture was an adventure for Sizwe, said Ms Jones. “We spent time on the subways trying to see how many people we could get to smile, not such an easy task,” she laughed, “and we wondered about the people with wires in their ears all the time and a coffee cup in the hand.”

The trip to Newtown was a nice change of pace for Sizwe, Ms Jones said. “He got to fool around in a maple tree-lined river, and to stroke beautiful horses,” she said. Seeking to show Ms Jones and Sizwe a Connecticut farm market, Ms Provey took them to Southbury. They did not find the market, but they did come across a stable where Eva and Sizwe were invited to pet the horses and feed them biscuits.

“I told Eva beforehand that Sizwe had been burned,” said Ms Provey. “They just immediately started playing. Eva didn’t even seem to notice Sizwe’s burns. She loves to play and when I first met Sizwe, I could tell that he was the kind of child, too, who just wanted to get down to business and play.”

Communication was not a problem, said Ms Provey, as Sizwe speaks English, as well as Afrikaanas and the native Tutsi language. He is also very comfortable around older children, so he fit right in with her teenagers, said Ms Provey, laughing and joking with them.

“My husband plays the piano, so we did spend some time standing around the piano, singing. Sizwe wanted to learn some American songs,” Ms Provey said. They then were treated to a special song sung by Sizwe, the African national anthem.

“We did a lot in one day,” said Ms Provey, “and I think he had a good time.”

Recruiting Volunteers

Another objective of Ms Jones’ trip was to meet with and encourage surgeons and others in the medical profession to consider volunteering with Children of Fire in Africa, and to encourage students with an interest in medicine or law or the media to join Children of Fire in Johannesburg for a period of time.

“I think I was pretty successful,” said Ms Jones. “I made it clear that surgeons who travel could not expect five-star accommodations. They must want to make a difference. And that’s not putting off anyone I spoke with,” she said. In particular, she is hoping that surgeons skilled in maxillo facial prosthodontics and pediatric bony deficit surgery will volunteer to teach workshops in Johannesburg in November and December of this year.

The process is underway now to register Children of Fire in the United States, she said, after meeting with lawyers who offered their expertise pro bono. The benefit of having the organization listed as a US sister charity is that fundraising will be allowed in the US, and future medical cooperation will be easier. Funds raised by Children of Fire go not just to helping burns survivors find proper health care, but to education, as well.

Children of Fire benefits young burns survivors through age 25 in Africa, but seeks support worldwide. “Any awareness of burns anywhere in the world will help increase safety, help people learn to cope with life as a burns survivor, and teach others to accept disfiguration that occurs with burns,” Ms Jones said.

Reaching Beyond Borders

Primarily dedicated to helping the children of Africa, Children of Fire does reach beyond its own borders. For instance, the organization is inviting two US teenage burns survivors to join the annual Drakensberg Outreach in South Africa. “This is a burns camp with a difference,” said Ms Jones, “and we stay in touch with the youngsters long-term. The American teens would join others ages 12 to 17 from Norway, Kenya, Taiwan, and other countries. They would have the opportunity to climb, hike, ride, meet local royalty, and learn about the local culture, food, and music in a safe and comfortable environment.”

The next Drakensberg Outreach is scheduled for the first week in October, with foreign students arriving one week earlier and staying one week later to allow them to settle in to the culture. Tutors are on site, so the adventure of a lifetime for burns survivors who might never again experience the opportunities offered through the camp can be undertaken with no fear of falling far behind in schoolwork. Interested teenagers can apply through any burns foundation, said Ms Jones, or send a letter of motivation to her at firechildren.icon.co.za. “We only ask that they have no major inhalation injuries from burns and are capable of walking,” she said. Tissue expanders and wounds that require minor daily care are fine, and even those burns victims with no hands or arms can take part in the Drakensberg Outreach.

Along with seeking appropriate expert care for burns survivors, and encouraging those in the medical profession to volunteer, Children of Fire also hopes to continue to expand its outreach to poor areas of Africa outside of South Africa. Wherever they go, though, they want to leave a long-term effect, said Ms Jones, “not just pop in and out.”

The organization is in need of volunteers in just about any field, said Ms Jones. “We can tailor our needs to all interests — legal, media, film, medical, or whatever. Anyone with intelligence of any kind can make a difference.”

To volunteer or to find out more about Children of Fire, visit firechildren.org. Financial donations are welcome, but until the charity gains US recognition, checks made out to Children of Fire should be mailed in care of Lucy Sikes, 231 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn NY, 11205. A direct mailing address for overseas can also be found at the website.