A fundraiser has been set up to help the young woman afford her living expenses while she recovers until she is able to return to work and her studies
Romina Elizabeth Sanchez Vega. Image: GoFundMe
A woman has been hospitalised for five weeks after an alleged work place incident.
Romina Vega, a student from Paraguay, was working in the hospitality sector when she was burned with oil. She suffered third degree burns in the incident and spent five weeks in hospital.
The 25-year-old was working at a food truck at the Calvin Harris event in Marlay Park in June. A colleague of Romina’s was disposing of boiling oil using a bucket, which split.
One of her feet was particularly badly damaged in the incident, and has left her unable to stand for long periods of time. This has made the prospect of returning to work difficult, and a fundraiser has been launched to help with her rent and recovery expenses.
Lourdes Espinola, who connected with Romina from the Paraguayan community in Dublin, has been helping her with translations through this process, and set up the fundraiser to assist her over the coming weeks.
“They were working in catering for an event that happened in June in Marlay Park. At the end of the event, they needed to dispose of boiling oil, and disposal was happening in a bucket,” Lourdes, speaking on behalf of Romina, told Dublin Live.
“That bucket broke and boiling oil spilled all over the place . She wanted to help her colleague and she leapt through the boiling oil, and that’s how she got the third-degree burns.
“She was in the hospital for almost five weeks and underwent two surgeries . The problem is that, since the burns happened on her feet, she cannot stand up for a long time, and that makes it very hard to do some jobs. Most of the available jobs are in hospitality, which require you to be standing up for many hours.”
The fundraiser aims to secure enough money that Romina’s rent will be covered for two months so that she can recover properly without returning to work. Any additional funds will be spent on burn creams and basic necessities to keep her comfortable while she heals.
“Every donation, big or small, and every share of this page means the world. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” wrote Lourdes.
Romina’s goal is to get back to work as soon as she is able to, and continue with her studies here in Ireland. You can support her fundraiser here.
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