Those tearful words not only told Xiao-Ya’s personal story, but also the stories of many burn survivors who shun the sunshine after the sudden change in their lives. In addition to their unfortunate burn scars or facial disfigurement, they also have to endure unfair treatment at work or in their social life because of their different appearance. Xiao-Ya pleaded with the public in her book, asking society to either treat burn survivors as normal people and give them a fair chance to thrive, or to see them as people with disabilities and provide them with reasonable benefits to live their lives.

Xiao-Ya’s story inspired a group of public-minded people who combined the resources of 10 nonprofit organizations to establish Sunshine Foundation, with the goal of providing professional assistance to help burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement on their difficult road towards recovery. The name of Sunshine Foundation was derived from the title of the book.

Unexpected changes can catch us unprepared and force us out of the original tracks of our lives; people with facial disfigurement understand this kind of painful experience the best. Day in, day out, they have to live under the constant pressure of strangers’ stares, and they face more difficulties than most people when looking for a job or trying to fit in society. Their different appearance results not only in tremendous psychological pressure, but also in various financial and social difficulties.

As a nonprofit organization, Sunshine Foundation has been actively providing professional services for burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement in the hope of helping them live their lives with confidence. We take pride in always upholding the values of humanity in our work, and have earned wide public recognition over the past two decades. Your support of Sunshine Foundation has made a great difference in a lot of people’s lives. Your encouragement and acceptance will continue to bring the sunshine back to the lives of more burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement.