What we do
The Burns Society of Kenya works to reduce the burden of burn injuries through prevention, education, training, advocacy, partnerships, and survivor-centered support.
Our work is practical and community-focused. We do not only speak about burn prevention on paper; we take the message to communities, health workers, institutions, and partners who can help make Kenya safer.
Burn injuries affect families physically, emotionally, and financially. Many of these injuries are preventable, especially when communities understand fire safety, first aid, safer cooking practices, and emergency response. BSK therefore focuses on both sides of the problem: preventing burns before they happen and improving care and recovery after injury.
Community Outreach
Taking Prevention Messages to High-Risk Communities
BSK believes burn prevention must reach people where they live and work. That is why community outreach is one of the society’s most active areas of work. The organization has conducted roadshows and sensitization activities in Nairobi communities such as Kibra, Lang’ata, Kawangware, and Mathare.
These outreach activities focus on practical, easy-to-understand messages. Community members are educated on common fire risks, burn prevention, emergency response, and safe first aid. The goal is to make fire safety information accessible, useful, and realistic for families living in different conditions.
Community outreach also gives BSK an opportunity to listen. Residents understand the risks they face every day, including overcrowding, unsafe housing, limited space for cooking, fuel use, electrical hazards, and delayed emergency access. By engaging directly with communities, BSK can shape future programs around real needs rather than assumptions.
"Burn prevention is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you are a health worker, donor, community leader, survivor, volunteer, institution, or concerned citizen, you can be part of this work"
Burn Survivor
Capacity Building
Burn care requires skill, teamwork, and timely action. A burn patient may need emergency assessment, fluid management, wound care, infection prevention, pain control, nutritional support, surgery, rehabilitation, and psychosocial care. For this reason, BSK supports capacity building for the people involved in burn care.
- Annual Fire Safety and Burns Awareness Week
- Capacity Building
- Advocacy and Policy Influence
- Partnerships and Collaboration
A National Platform for Public Education
The Annual Fire Safety and Burns Awareness Week is one of BSK’s key public awareness activities. It is a week-long campaign dedicated to educating the public on fire safety, burn prevention, and appropriate first aid management for burn injuries.
This campaign brings together communities, health workers, emergency responders, partners, and public institutions around one shared message: burns can be prevented, and early response matters. It creates visibility for burn prevention and reminds the public that fire safety should be practiced before tragedy happens.
Strengthening Burn Care Through Training
Burn care requires skill, teamwork, and timely action. A burn patient may need emergency assessment, fluid management, wound care, infection prevention, pain control, nutritional support, surgery, rehabilitation, and psychosocial care. For this reason, BSK supports capacity building for the people involved in burn care.
The society promotes training in the emergency management of moderate and severe burns for doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and other frontline providers. These trainings help health workers respond more confidently and appropriately when patients present with burn injuries.
Building Safer Systems for Burn Prevention
Burn prevention requires more than individual awareness. Communities also need safer housing, safer electricity, better fire preparedness, stronger emergency response, and policies that protect vulnerable populations. BSK therefore works with partners and government agencies to advocate for stronger fire safety systems and burn prevention standards.
The society collaborates with stakeholders such as the National Disaster Management Unit and other institutions involved in disaster response, healthcare, public safety, and community education. Through these partnerships, BSK helps keep burn prevention on the public health and safety agenda.
Working Together for Greater Impact
BSK’s work is strengthened through partnerships with hospitals, emergency response organizations, humanitarian agencies, government institutions, and professional societies. These partnerships make it possible to reach more communities, train more health workers, improve public education, and advocate for stronger systems.
Major partners include Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya Red Cross Society, St John Ambulance Kenya, Kenya Power and Lighting Company, Africa Fire Mission, Kenya Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, University of Nairobi, and the National Disaster Management Unit.