Children and teens from across San Diego and Imperial County gathered in Jamul this July for a few warm days of archery, swimming, and friendship at the Indian Hills Campground. Despite their different backgrounds, they shared one life-altering experience — surviving severe burns.
Nineteen campers and four young adult leaders attended Camp Beyond the Scars, a free annual program organized by the Burn Institute, which works to prevent fire-related injuries and provide support for burn survivors.
Eleven-year-old Tovie Cousin, now in his fourth summer at camp, says it’s a place where he feels completely at ease. “It’s more comfortable because I can see other people with burns and they can see me,” he explains. “Everybody’s different in their own way. They all have different burns, different stories to their burns.”
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Cousin suffered second- and third-degree burns on his palms as a toddler after touching an infrared barbecue, an injury that required a skin graft. Each year, he eagerly looks forward to reuniting with his friends. “It’s a place where you can open up to them and they can open up to you,” he says.
His mother, Alika, 44, says the camp provides something rare — a genuine sense of belonging. “He feels welcomed, he feels loved, he feels seen,” she says. “Every year, he’s a little bit more independent, a little bit more courageous and stronger. When he comes back from camp, he shines a little brighter.”
A Path from Healing to Leadership
For Karmen Verdugo, 18, this was her first year at Camp Beyond the Scars — and her first as part of the Leader in Training program for participants who have aged out of camp but aren’t yet counselors.
Verdugo was badly burned by a fire pit at a birthday party in May 2024. The recovery process took months and deeply affected her mental health. “I was bed bound for a couple months, and I wasn’t taking care of my burn or myself,” she recalls.
Things began to turn around when she joined an adult burn support group. Listening to others share their stories helped her confront her own pain. Gradually, she regained confidence and reconnected with school and her church community.
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“The healing journey will never stop, but it’s getting better for me,” Verdugo says.
Now, she hopes to guide others on similar paths. “We’ve all gone through the same thing — different stories — but we’re all still healing from it,” she says. “A burn doesn’t stop people from living and having fun.”
Finding Strength in Community
During the camp, Verdugo’s compassion was tested when she met Anthony, a young camper who became homesick.
“You don’t have to be scared to be here,” she told him. “But if you want to go home, that’s perfectly fine. You have friends here that care so much about you.”
With encouragement from Verdugo and the other leaders, Anthony decided to stay. He joined a scavenger hunt and proudly built a Lego toucan as his prize — a gift he later gave to Verdugo as a thank-you for helping him find joy in the experience.
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Anthony shared a cabin with Cousin, who also offered support. “I tried to help him as much as I could,” Cousin says.
For both campers and leaders, Camp Beyond the Scars is more than a week of outdoor activities — it’s a place of connection, courage, and healing. It’s where survivors learn that they are not defined by their injuries but by the strength they show in overcoming them.
