Georgia non-profit creates community for burn survivors

 By: Narda Sigala

The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation is a nonprofit organization located in Atlanta, Georgia that aims to help burn survivors in their healing journeys. This nonprofit organization also hosts Camp Oo U La, which is a summer camp for burn survivors and their siblings. The mission is to provide the burn survivor community and fire service with support and assistance throughout every step of the journey.

“It is our mission to hold a burn survivor’s hand and help them and their families navigate this new trauma and hopefully get to a place where they are able to heal,” says Dennis Gardin, burn survivor and Executive Director of the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation. “It is an honor that we get to do, and we hope to be able to do it for years to come.”

One of the biggest aspects of this foundation and its camp programs is to build a community of support between its participants. For many burn survivors, they find connections through each other’s traumas and perspectives. However, burn survivors are not the only ones who experience this sense of community at camp, their families are also apart.

“We believe that when one person is burned, everybody in their family is affected and that is why to us, it is so incredibly important for us to be there for not only the survivor, but also for the family,” says McKenzy Williams, the Camp Director for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation. “We believe trauma affects everybody in a family and presents itself in so many different ways and our goal is to be sure to help the families heal as a whole.”

In 2024, the burn camp will be celebrating its 30th year anniversary of being in the burn survivor community. For the past 30 years, the GFBF has provided burn survivors with the opportunities to find connection and grow with one another through various camp programs. An example of two burn survivors who have grown up in this community are Laura and Emily Bates, age 32. These two campers are fraternal twins and have been coming to camp for the past 25 years and have experienced both healing and memorable moments at Camp Oo U La.

“I was burned in a house fire, when I was only 3 years old and I remember the pain and agony of all of the reconstructive surgeries, but despite all of that pain, most of my childhood memories are at camp,” says Laura about her childhood. “I have always been to camp and loved it, but I think the true healing of my burns began once Camp Oo U La opened up to siblings and my twin sister was able to join. I didn’t realize how much she had been affected by growing up with a burn survivor.”

Since they have both been able to come to camp, their relationship has only grown stronger. They have since worked with the foundation to speak at events for burn survivors and talk about the healing of their traumas through camp and the importance of community.

“I don’t know if there will ever be enough words to describe how grateful I am to this community for helping my family heal after the tragedy and for bringing me so much closer to my sister,” says Emily, sister of Laura. “I think that is why we will always be willing and able to give back through any capacity. 

Through various camp programs, awareness initiatives and community outreach programs the foundation aims to continue to provide support and education about burn survivors and the fire service to communities. The foundation has excelled in their mission to provide the burn survivor community with help, hope and healing beyond the burn and hopes to do so for many years to come.