Camp Beyond the Scars, a special summer camp in the Cuyamaca Mountains marks its 25th anniversary this week. The camp is giving a special group of 70 campers life lessons during their summer camp while they enjoy some fun in the sun.

The camp holds a special meaning for those who have suffered from burn injuries, especially children. According to statistics, burn injury remains one of the leading causes of childhood death and disfigurement in the United States, whether accidental or inflicted. The children who do survive have to deal with serious burn injury, physical deformation, permanent scarring, social isolation along with emotional trauma as a result of the tragedy.

The burn survivor support program at the camp is a vital component of their activities and is also one of the most successful on-going efforts when it comes to providing special experience for young burn survivors. Camp Beyond the Scars, a vital component of the Burn Institute's program was established in 1994 as a special camp for burn-injured children between the ages of 5 and 17. The special camp for children itself was established in 1987.

Every year, approximately 50 children between the ages of 5 and 17 attend their weeklong summer camp which is held in the foothills of San Diego County, along with a 3-day winter camp. The camp has proven to provide a special, positive experience for young burn survivors. The campers have fun and their camping activities include swimming, basketball, volleyball, archery, overnight camping, golf, arts and crafts and more.

Since the camp allows the campers to see other children with burn injuries, it makes them feel better about themselves and allows them to cope with their injuries better. It also infuses a renewed sense of self-esteem and provides a remarkable learning experience which helps transform the burn victims to burn survivors.

The camp also provides the burn-injured children with the support and counselling they need to enhance their self-esteem. The best thing about the camp is that most of the camp volunteers are off-duty fire fighters and adult burn survivors, who are uniquely familiar with the challenges these children face.

12-year-old Tiffany Vargas has been coming to the camp for the last five years and she loves it. Tiffany got her scars a long time ago and says, "You get to be with other burn survivors like yourself. You don’t have to hide your scars."

She recalls, "I was four years old, in the kitchen looking for something to eat and my aunt was cooking some soup, and the pot broke and it fell on me."

The accident left severe scarring all over Tiffany’s left arm. She under went a number of skin grafting procedures and operations but her arm is discoloured and uneven. But Tiffany does not feel sorry for herself. She loves her scar and is proud of it and considers it her secret dragon.

This is the attitude which the camp tries to foster in the young burn survivors, at the same time allowing the kids to have lots of fun while they are learning to cope with their problems.

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Richard Jacobs is a chief editor since early 2007, and he currently works for MyDUIattorney. A website that helps you to find the right DUI lawyer, you can search for Florida DUI Lawyer or Philadelphia DUI Lawyer online, anytime!