KEEZLETOWN, Va. (AP) — Anwar Glasgow, 24, of Los Angeles, has returned to a local camp for survivors of burns and burn-related injuries almost every year since he was 9 years old.
Nearly 40 campers between the ages of 7 and 17 gathered recently at Brethren Woods Camp and Retreat Center in Keezletown for Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp, a program that mixes traditional camp activities with emotional and social training for children with unique injuries and experiences as a result of being burned.
The campers come from multiple states and are referred to the program - which began over 30 years ago and operates as an independent nonprofit - from multiple hospital systems.
Glasgow, who grew up in Silver Spring, Md., has been a counselor at burn camp for six years. He first attended in 2007 as a camper. He said he was scalded as a baby when he knocked a container of hot water on himself. The accident resulted in some large scars on his thighs.
“I burned myself at a very young age. I cannot remember a time when this scar was not a part of my body,” Glasgow said. “I find comfort in that; I thought it was kind of cool growing up.”
Glasgow said he and his family got mailers about the camp, and he decided to go when he was 9.
“I loved camp growing up. It was a very unique and special environment,” Glasgow said. “I’d never gone to any kind of summer camp. I asked my parents to go, and they were on board and I landed here. I was very sure that I’d be back every year from then.”
Campers participate in a wide variety of activities, including rock climbing, horseback riding, watersports, archery and crafting during the camp that’s based at Brethren Woods with outings to nearby spots.
A community of kids who’ve been injured by burns, the camp introduces young people to peers who have been through something similar, said Tonas Kalil, camp co-director.
“Some of these kids, with a T-shirt on and a pair of shorts and shoes, you can’t see where they’re burned,” Kalil said. “Other kids, it’s very obvious that something happened.”
Isaiah Singletary, 14, of Columbia, Md., said he’s been to the camp for the past six years and has tried activities such as horseback riding each time.
Part of “The Mustangs,” a group of campers and their counselors, which included Glasgow, Isaiah said he got to work with a sewing machine and jump in the pool with his group.
In addition to exciting experiences, the campers also attend social and emotional sessions to learn strategies to cope with the trauma from their burns, Kalil said.
“(For many campers) this is a lifelong problem. They need extra support and actual training on ‘How are you going to deal with the public for the rest of your life?’” Kalil said. “And ‘How are you internally going to deal with it?’ as well.”
Glasgow said every camper has a different story to their burn. These injuries can be connected to violence and many different forms of trauma, camp staff said. Part of camp is dealing with the trauma, Kalil said.
“Anytime someone suffers trauma, it’s not just ‘OK, it happened, we treat you, now it’s over,’” Kalil said. “It’s never that simple with trauma. Depending on the severity of their injury, (campers) can have lifelong physical injuries that they have to deal with but also can have lifelong mental health issues.”
A longtime soccer player, Glasgow said many people asked him about the scars that are visible when he wears shorts. He said there were times growing up when other people made fun of his scars.
“Your friends and teammates would see those things, and I would get some adverse reactions,” Glasgow said. “Even when I would get those adverse reactions, I felt like I had the tools to appropriately address them.”
Kalil, a physical therapist who worked in burn centers, started the camp with co-director Linda French over 30 years ago.
The camp moved to the Valley shortly after it started and ran from another Rockingham County venue, Camp Horizons, before coming to Brethren Woods. The camp involves members of the Harrisonburg Fire Department who serve as counselors and helpers, Kalil said.
Now pursuing a career in acting, Glasgow - who studied animation at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County - comes from all the way across the country to be a camp counselor.
“Growing up around camp and connecting my burn to such positive, enriching experience made me feel really cool about my burn,” Glasgow said. “I knew from early on that I wanted to contribute in creating and curating this experience for others when I grew up, so (returning as a counselor) was an easy choice for me.”
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