When I was a toddler living in a hut in deep rural South Africa, I was severely burned with hot oil on my scalp, face and hands. I spent five months in hospital. I had a lot of surgery and rehabilitation in the years that followed, thanks to Children of Fire (ChiFi). After prolonged tissue expansion of my scalp, volunteer Tristan Jones accompanied me safely back to my grandmother's hut in land so remote that it was unmapped. I returned every now and then to ChiFi for a small operation or for help with my schooling. When my grandfather died, it was harder to remain in contact as he was the anchor in my life. But Children of Fire searched for me and brought me back into my burns survivor family again. The Founder realised that I had developed a talent for drawing and started taking me to galleries to broaden my mind. I also visited the National School for the Arts and dreamed of being transferred from my overcrowded under-resourced township school to a much better learning environment on the edge of Braamfontein, Johannesburg. For the school to accept me, however, I need to find more than R40,000 for the first year of hostel fees, materials, uniform and tuition. I would hope to be there for three years. So in my December holidays I am going to paint and paint and draw and draw, to show people that I am worth supporting. While artworks might be needed for a portfolio, I hope that in the longer term the better ones can be given to those who support Children of Fire as acknowledgement of their kindness. I hope that I can raise enough money not just to make my future schooling possible, but also to provide resources for the other children to explore how therapeutic and wonderful art is. I love dancing but I believe my future is to follow in the footsteps of Van Gogh, Durer, Degas, Cezanne. I am not skilled like them, I am not the same style as them, but I believe that I have some of their passion to notice beautiful detail in small things and to try to record the rhythm of nature on paper and canvas.Help me to pursue that big dream please.

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