EAST TROY -- Children who have burn injuries often face stares because of their appearance. But that does not happen at one special place in Wisconsin.
In East Troy, near the Kettle Moraine Forest, nearly 60 young survivors from all over Wisconsin are having the time of their lives. And boy do they deserve it.
"Here I feel free, so it's my freedom," Caileigh Tacalovich said.
"When you come here, it's like everybody's the same basically," Davian Jackson-Harris said.
"Camp means everything to me because it's just that one place that I can feel finally feel good about myself," Emma Kroll said.
For these kids, camp is a whole new world. All of them have their own stories of survival after being burned in house fires, accidents or abusive situations.
Each has scars somewhere on their body. An understanding that makes these friendships become more like family.
"I know the pain that they had to go through to get here," Owen Viar said.
"They know what it's like to have a scar and they know what it's like for others to say stuff to them," Tacalovich said. "They're really nice to me and I'm really nice to them."
It's known as "Burn Camp" and it's free for all kids who attend, paid for by community donations. The volunteer counselors and staff are firefighters, nurses and teachers.
They get to see the kids heal more every day, growing from victims to survivors.
And they have a message about their scars which they now wear proudly.
"Just because people look different, it doesn't mean they don't feel good about themselves," Kailyn Lloyd said.
"Don't treat them any different from other kids just because they have scars on their body," Viar said.
"No matter what type of scar you have, you're beautiful the way you are," Tacalovich said.
