Institute for Social and Health Sciences (ISHS)

Institute for Social and Health Science's No Paraffin! Campaign off to a good start at Sharicrest Primary

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The Unisa Institute for Social and Health Sciences’ No Paraffin! Campaign started off on a high note at Sharicrest Primary, a school in Thembelihle, South of Johannesburg. The Campaign is a call for an expedited transition to safe and affordable energy that prioritizes the needs of energy impoverished communities. There are more than 600 000 energy poor homes in South Africa, i.e., those homes that depend on a mixture of solid fuels (e.g., wood or coal) and flammable hydrocarbons such as paraffin as their primary energy sources, often with high rates of accidental fire and spillages, paraffin ingestion, and toxic fume inhalation. The Campaign alerts local communities to the dangers of paraffin and shares safe paraffin use and injury prevention tips for families.

Prof. Van Niekerk speaking about the Campaign

The team from Unisa is led by Professor Ashley van Niekerk, whose research on burns and energy poverty has informed the Campaign. Other members of the team are Ms Noxolo Dumani, a Psychology researcher and co-ordinator of the No Paraffin! Campaign, Mr Daniel Radebe, a Social Worker and Doctoral Candidate, Ms Matlhogonolo Thupe, a Masters Psychology Intern, and Ms Duduzile Skosana, a Communications and Marketing Intern.

They came together with firefighters from Eldorado Park namely, Ms Gugu Manana and Ms Mphonyana Makau, who provided demonstrations on the prevention of fires and burns and the immediate responses to a home fire. The Campaign team highlighted important do's and don'ts of paraffin use and the learners, who were from grades 4 to 7, listened attentively, showed much interest, and actively participated throughout.

The No Paraffin! Campaign will be visiting other centres in the Johannesburg South with the intention of a national dissemination in 2023.

A firefighter engaging the students on fire safety responses

The No Paraffin! Campaign team with two firefighters from Eldorado Park (Ms Manana and Ms Makau), and Ms Magalagadi from The Rising Sun newspaper (far right)

Written by
Duduzile Skosana
Communication and Marketing Intern – ISHS Contact 011 670 9600 | www.ishs.org.za

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Publish date: 2022-09-07 00:00:00.0

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