"Our scars tell stories of survival:" Youth burn survivors attend annual summer camp

Dozens of burn survivors between the ages of seven and 17 attended the 23rd annual Wisconsin summer camp at Camp Timber-Lee in East Troy. 

“It means so much to the kids, to see their reactions when they get off the bus on Sunday brings all the joy and makes the year round work all worth while," said Michael Wos, Executive Director of Professional Firefighters Charitable Foundation. 

It's a week long summer came filled with fun activities to bring young survivors together. 

LaToya Eskrige has been coming year after year since she was just seven years old.

“I was in a house fire one day, a day before my third birthday. I came here at 7 and stayed here till I was 17," said Eskrige.

She said this is a place where she feels she is not judged or criticized. Eskrige is now a camp counselor and she works to help other survivors.

“We don’t want pity. We want us to treat us normal and respect and know we are people just with scars. Our scars tell stories of survival," said Eskrige. 

The summer camp is free to all of the campers. Organizers rely on donations from supporters to continue the Burn Survivor Support Programming. If you know of a burn survivor who would like to attend next year's camp, click here for more information.