'Most badly burned girl in the world' finds peace after moving to Scotland with mum

Dorah Jones, 30, suffered burns in infancy when her home caught fire in the South African shanty town where she lived.

The mum of young woman left severely disabled after being seriously burned when she was a tiny baby have found 'peace, warmth and kindness' since moving to Scotland following Brexit.

Dorah Jones, 30, suffered burns in infancy when her home caught fire in the South African shanty town where she lived. At the time, she has been known as the 'most badly burned girl in the world to survive'.

Until 18 months ago she was living with her adoptive mum Bronwen Jones in London - but the pair then moved to Castletown in the Highlands.

Bronwen, 67, says she has been worn down over the decades by hurtful comments people have made regarding her daughter's appearance.

And she says things became worse after Brexit - when attitudes on social media and in the public seemed to become more callous.

They are now settled into their new home - and Bronwen even sent a candid letter about her daughter and the abuse she has suffered to people in the village.

Recent video shows a delighted Dorah dancing to the music of a local accordion player. Speaking today, Bronwen said: "After Brexit sections of the public seemed to get revved up more easily.

"They were being more negative on social media and young men were not giving Dorah a seat on the train. It was very surprising to me. We went as far north as we could without falling into the sea.

"Apart from one person, people have been lovely, it's beautiful and peaceful. I've looked after Dorah since she was a baby. I wanted to remain part of Europe, so the openness of Scotland called.

"I was fed up with crime and negativity in England and thought it was time to go north. Two brothers bring us fresh bass from the sea, neighbours invite us for music recitals or homemade shortbread, farmers and churches have been especially kind.

"We want Castletown as our long-term home where we can get a big dog and I can write a book about my work in Africa."

Dorah was severely burned in a fire and was then turned away from three hospitals as they were convinced she was about to die.

She was abandoned by her biological mother when first injured and despite years of being cot-bound, she made friends with Bronwen's children who visited her regularly. Bronwen adopted her and it was through Dorah that she started her Children of Fire charity to help hundreds of other youngsters disfigured and disabled by burns.

Due to the severity of the fire and delays in appropriate treatment, Dorah lost her nose, eyelids, lips, bone in her forehead and hands. Her fingers fell off one by one and ears were deformed by the flames.

She has been rebuilt through 45 operations but would still benefit from ear and chest surgery and a toe transplant to one hand. Bronwen supports burn survivors as part of the UK-registered Children of Fire charity she leads.

Children who have been affected by fires in poor communities across Africa are helped with surgery, medical advice, education and therapy by the charity. Bronwen and her daughter have been living in Castletown for 18 months.

They originally wanted to move to Scotland after the Brexit vote in 2016 which made her "very upset".

In a debate with a "poorly-trained" social worker, Bronwen said she felt "like moving to the Outer Hebrides".

The woman then obstructed their Scottish plans "meddling without understanding the complexity of protecting a burns survivor," Bronwen said.

She added: "I still help a lot of children in Africa but I'm looking for a successor. I just want to settle down here in Castletown and find peace.

"When I first moved, I put all my thoughts down in a letter and delivered 100 of these around the village."

One passage from the letter reads: "My daughter who's been called more foul names than you can ever imagine, also has no hands. And she has a hole in her skull. And her chest is burned too.

"Her breasts are askew and so judgmental are the dispensers of resources, that they don't think it is worth their effort to realign them, because even to some in the medical profession, she is a non-person and not worth it.

"If you stare long enough and think long enough, you will recognise that she needs help with almost everything. Almost everything that you can do, she can't."

At the Mey Highland Games this year the mother and daughter featured in one of many photographs showing King Charles greeting visitors at the event. Dorah could be seen throwing her head back in delight as the King spoke to them.

"We were the last people he saw and Dorah could feel the build-up with people saying: 'he's coming'," Bronwen recalled.

"When he finally got to us, she just did a whoop of joy as she realised the man was there and greeting us. I think he recognised us again at Canisbay Church as we were in the front pew and he said: 'Good morning' as he went past."

Over the years Dorah has had her face partially reconstructed, and an attempted corneal graft. She has a prosthetic nose.

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Developmentally, Dorah understands that she is now in a gentle place. Though she has limited speech, she is able to greet people and sing songs. She is also sensitive to what people are saying about her.

Local celebrity musician Brandon McPhee was visiting the Jones household in Castletown and brought hearty cheer along with his accordion.

Dorah was delighted with the music and danced around the room with a young South African visitor called Bronwen Mogano, who was named after the older Bronwen. "Her mother volunteered for me in Africa 20 years ago and named her baby after me."

Brandon said: "I was at the Castle of Mey and, on hearing that I was a musician, Bronwen asked me to sing the Skye Boat Song to Dorah. They both joined in the melody.

We spoke about coming over to Castletown to play some tunes and sing some songs," said Brandon.

"Music is a powerful thing and has a language of its own. How you can express feeling through music is quite incredible - people can feel happy or sad and have mixed emotions. Music can communicate without any words at all; it speaks for itself.

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"Playing the accordion for Dorah you can feel the emotion in the way that she listens and she even tried some notes on the accordion. There's a powerful connection there."

Bronwen has thanked Castletown for its warmth and kindness. She says that all she seeks from the local community is empathy and wants to focus on the humanity of Dorah.

Bronwen said: "We are two-tone. One black, one white. That alone is enough to cause a pause mid-sentence if we both walk into a new place. And embarrassed in the gap of silence, they look away. To many my child is hideous. To me, she is beautiful. This is my life. And that of my daughter."

The charity aids young African survivors of burn injuries - whether by fire, chemicals, electricity or hot liquids - and educates the communities in which they live to provide both prevention and cure.

Further details on the charity can be found at: www.firechildren.org

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