{"id":88143,"date":"2025-10-16T19:27:56","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation"},"modified":"2025-10-16T20:21:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T20:21:10","slug":"nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation","title":{"rendered":"Nine-Year-Old Burn Survivor Starts National Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>In a powerful display of resilience, a nine-year-old burn survivor, Sira, has launched a new organization in The Gambia aimed at supporting fellow burn victims. The Sira Burn Foundation was officially launched on Sunday under the inspiring theme: \u201cA survivor is not a disability but a strength.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

The initiative comes as a direct response to the long-term physical and psychological challenges faced by victims, which include scarring, limited mobility, and psychological issues like depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n

Sira, who suffered severe burns at the age of five, shared her personal journey, explaining how the trauma sparked the idea for the foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a young girl full of dreams and hopes, but my life suddenly changed after I had scars on my skin,\u201d Sira said at the launch. \u201cI have done five surgeries so far and still have the defects of burn victims. This is a painful experience that I went through as a victim of burn and survivor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sira\u2019s mother, Awa Cham, recounted the terrifying accident and the subsequent emotional toll. Sira was burned when she accidentally knocked over a frying pan of hot oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cSira was rushed to the hospital, where we spent one month, which was not enough, but we had to go abroad. Sira went through surgery three times,\u201d Awa explained.<\/p>\n

More painful than the physical injury was the constant public scrutiny. Awa shared her daughter\u2019s heartbreaking observations after she returned from school: \u201cMum, why are people always looking at me? Even the vendors, when I pass, stop selling and looking at me. Even in class, instead of students concentrating and learn, they will always concentrate on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing Sira and the attendees, Fatou Dally Bittaye, a representative from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), offered words of encouragement and pledged the Ministry\u2019s commitment to creating an inclusive environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSira, don\u2019t worry, we are all the same at the roots but different at the branches,\u201d Bittaye stated. \u201cThese differences are what make us unique and valuable. It\u2019s our collective responsibility to embrace this difference and create an inclusive environment where every child like you has the opportunity to strive. Our Ministry has taken critical steps to address these issues, and everyone needs to know that we all have equal rights in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sira Burn Foundation aims to provide a helping hand to burn victims across The Gambia, turning a painful personal experience into a source of national strength and advocacy.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. In a powerful display of resilience, a nine-year-old burn survivor, Sira, has launched a new organization in The Gambia aimed at supporting fellow burn victims. The Sira Burn Foundation was officially launched on Sunday under the inspiring theme: \u201cA survivor is not a disability but a strength.\u201d The initiative comes as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-88143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nNine-Year-Old Burn Survivor Starts National Foundation - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a powerful display of resilience, a nine-year-old burn survivor, Sira, has launched a new organization in The Gamb ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nine-Year-Old Burn Survivor Starts National Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a powerful display of resilience, a nine-year-old burn survivor, Sira, has launched a new organization in The Gamb ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T19:27:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-16T20:21:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760633393.000416.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Nine-Year-Old Burn Survivor Starts National Foundation\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-16T19:27:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-16T20:21:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\"},\"wordCount\":429,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760633393.000416.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nine-year-old-burn-survivor-starts-national-foundation\",\"name\":\"Nine-Year-Old Burn Survivor Starts National Foundation - 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