The Fire Children project started in 2000 as a one-off aid programme - but has now been an integral part of the healthcare system in Tanzania for almost 25 years. We learnt about the project last year as part of our work as a specialist in clubfoot treatment after Ponseti and are supporting the project for the second time this year with our Christmas donation.

 

‘Feuerkinder’ has set itself the goal of improving the challenging health care of the population in Tanzania through a charity campaign based on donations and voluntary work. To this end, a team of orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, theatre nurses, physiotherapists and an orthopaedic technician travel to the Nkoaranga Hospital in northern Tanzania one to three times a year.

The team operates on and treats children and adolescents with deformities of the arms and legs, such as clubfoot, as well as pronounced X and O-B deformities, free of charge. Clubfoot treatment according to Ponseti has been part of the treatment spectrum since 2006. In the meantime, a separate department for clubfoot children has been set up at the Usa River Rehabilitation Centre and a clubfoot network has been established in northern Tanzania in cooperation with Miracle-Feet.

 
In October, the fortieth ‘Feuerkinder mission’ took place - with 111 operations in just three days of surgery. In total, over 2,500 operations and around 8,000 outpatient treatments have been carried out since Feuerkinder was founded.

 
You can find out more about the project at
 

www.feuerkinder.de

We are there!

What do I do in case of burns, a tick bite or poisoning? And above all: How can I help others in an emergency? District Administrator Heiko Blume and K&L Verlag have set themselves the goal of answering these questions in a child-friendly way and have published an easy-to-understand colouring and workbook for girls and boys of primary school age. We think: That's a good thing!

That's why we're supporting the project

The book, with lots of pictures to colour in, teaches first aid skills in a playful way. It tells the story of siblings Mario and Olivia, who guide us through various episodes together with their dachshund Waldi. On 32 pages, they give tips and advice on burns, heatstroke, tick bites, poisoning and shocks. This gives children age-appropriate knowledge on how to behave correctly in an emergency and how to call for help. At the same time, teachers, educators and parents can discuss and practise the illustrations with the children.Thanks to the support of many local companies, the colouring books and workbooks can be distributed free of charge to primary school children in the district of Uelzen. A commitment that we are very happy to support.

In order to complete the circuit with a good two million steps in six weeks, each of us had to take an average of 10,000 steps per day. Participants were able to enter their results daily on a campaign website and track their progress "live", both their individual performance and the team's overall performance on a daily basis.

With more than 2.2 million steps, we even exceeded the target! At the end of the successful campaign, we received an AOK certificate and a "tulip from Amsterdam" from Semeda :-).

Our conclusion: it was not only fun and got us "moving" a bit, but also motivated us to exercise more after the campaign was over by raising awareness of the topic. Who knows where we'll go next ...