Copy and Photos by Kaila Williams/Brooks Institute of Photography
“Incredible Heart”
According to the Center for Disease Control there are an estimated 9,300 children under the age of 13 that have been diagnosed with HIV or Aids in the United States. In California alone there are 630 preteens suffering from the virus. In 1998, a twenty-one year old college student, Eva Payne, decided to help the children and teenagers who were infected or affected by the disease by starting a summer camp, Camp Kindle, in eastern Nebraska. This past summer this camp serviced over 80 children from all over the Central United States. Now a Santa Clarita resident, she brought the camp to California this past year, with campers and staff spending four days camping in Arrow Bear, Calif. Camp Kindle has served over 550 children since its inception. Knowing the economic drain of constant medical care, Camp Kindle pays 100% of the cost of attendance, including airfare and travel costs. This policy allows underprivileged children from across the country to attend the camp. Many of the campers, because of economic and health reasons, have never attended summer camp before. On the final night of camp, campers have the opportunity to make a wish. Sue, an 11 year-old camper from Kansas City said, “I found out my Mom had HIV 4-years ago. Ever since, I have been looking for a place where I can be myself. I do not need to make a wish because mine has already come true, I found Camp Kindle.”
If a camper comes to camp without proper clothing or supplies, she gets them what they need. Knowing that the campers come from underprivileged families, she gives away donated toys and electronic devices as prizes for games and other activities. By the end of camp, campers are walking around with garbage bags full of new trinkets for them and their families.
But Payne's drive to help does not stop after camp. She goes above and beyond to make sure that the campers are being taken care of properly. Camp Kindle offers year round mini camp sessions and a speaker's bureau, where campers have the opportunity to help spread their stories of how HIV and AIDS affects' their lives. Recently, Camp Kindle started a scholarship for high school graduates affected by AIDS or HIV. Eventually, Payne wants to expand Camp Kindle to serve the entire United States.
“These kids are my passion and they have changed my life” Payne said. “Each of our counselors, nurses and psychosocial team members have said the same. Camp Kindle is 100% volunteer based and every year we have returning staff members who rearrange their summer school schedules, take their vacation time to attend or tell their hopeful employer before they can accept a job position they need one week off to come to Camp Kindle. This camp changes the lives of not only the campers, but also the volunteers who serve these youth.”
Eva Payne, middle right, holds her son Coleman, 2, while she checks in with a group of Counselors In Training (CITs) during the seven day Nebraska session of Camp Kindle at the Catron Camp Site off County Road 60 in Nebraska City, Neb., on August 5, 2005. Seven years ago as a 21 year oldold college student, Payne started Camp Kindle, an overnight camp for children infected or affected by HIV and AIDS, after realizing that there were no outreach programs for children living with AIDS in the Midwest. This summer Payne, a Santa Clarita, Calif., resident, started a West Coast session of the camp, held in Arrow Bear, Calif., in mid-July. Eventually, she hopes to establish camps throughout the entire United States. |
• Eva Payne, left, and Brett Avila, the director of Camp Kindle's psychosocial team, hang a sign welcoming campers to the first annual West Coast session at the campsite in Arrow Bear, Calif., on July 22, 2005. Avila is also in charge of SPEAK OUT, a speaking program he and Payne recently developed in order to give campers an outlet to talk about their struggles with HIV and AIDS and to raise awareness for the disease. Campers are encouraged to go on speaking engagements with the camp during the winter months to tell their individual stories. Some campers also choose to give their testimonies during a ceremony on the last night of the camp. |
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• From left: Brett Avila, Emmi Payne, 6, and Eva Payne lead camp songs before dinner at the West Coast session of Camp Kindle in Arrow Bear, Calif., on Saturday afternoon, July 23, 2005. Payne says she designed Camp Kindle to be a place where campers feel safe enough to talk about the disease that has so greatly affected their lives, but she hopes it is also a place where they can escape their worries for a time. |
Preteens Elva Russell, left, and Mel Summers take their medicines during a break between activities at the Midwest session of Camp Kindle at the Catron campsite in Nebraska City, Neb., on August 5, 2005. Campers must adhere to a strict schedule, taking their medicines at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, or else they run the risk of becoming ill. If they miss or are late taking medication, the virus is allowed to multiply, weakening their immune systems and lowering their antibodies. This schedule must be kept throughout the rest of their lives; there is no cure for HIV or AIDS.
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• Campers react to the testimonies of fellow campers while other campers and staff members, comfort them during the festivities on the last night of camp on Saturday evening, August 6, 2005 at the Midwest session in Nebraska City, Neb. Every child who attends Camp Kindle is either infected or has a family member who has been infected by HIV or Aids. Either because of economic reasons or health reasons, most of the children who attend Camp Kindle are attending camp for the first time because it pays for 100 percent of the cost of attendance, including airfare. |
Campers and staff of Camp Kindle, a free summer camp for children and preteens affected or infected by AIDS and HIV, share a quiet moment before releasing their red balloons into the night during the Make a Wish ceremony at Camp Catron in Nebraska City, Neb., on Saturday evening, August 6, 2005. Participants release red balloons symbolizing a wish that they each made at the Make a Wish ceremony, held annually on the last day of camp at the Midwest session of Camp Kindle in Nebraska City, Neb., on Saturday evening, August 6, 2005. Wishes are made by staff and campers alike and range from wishes to find a cure for AIDS to wishes to come to camp next year. |
Toll Free Phone 877.800.CAMP (2267) | Fax 702.995.9186 | email kids@campkindle.org
CA Address: PO BOX 803220, Santa Clarita, California 91380
NE Address: PO BOX 81147, Lincoln, Nebraska 68501
copyright 2000-2004 All Rights Reserved Camp Kindle, Inc |
