Creating community at camp

First family camp for child burn survivors encourages healing while having fun

This summer, child burn survivors and their families travelled from across Canada for a few days of fun, connection, and healing as part of the Phoenix Family Camp hosted at Camp Manitou. Financially supported by the Manitoba Firefighters Burn Fund and organized by Mamingwey Burn Society, Phoenix Family Camp is a chance for child burn survivors and their families to come together to heal and receive supports while having fun and celebrating what makes each child special.

“Families indicated this is what they needed and what their kids needed, to see other kids who were burn survivors and thriving in the community and to connect with other families who were also going through the same kind of healing journey,” said Hon Ha O’Donovan, Executive Director at Mamingwey Burn Society.

Camp Phoenix was founded in 1986 and was the first youth camp of its kind for burn survivors in North America. Originally for youth between the ages of 6 and 17, Camp Phoenix hosted their first family camp this year at Camp Manitou for younger burn survivors who weren’t quite ready to go to an overnight camp alone, with the attendees ranging from one to ten years old.

Since the Phoenix Family Camp serves patients from HSC Children’s Hospital, camp attendees came from Manitoba, Nunavut, and Northwestern Ontario, with the furthest family travelling all the way from Iqaluit. Camp Manitou’s location just five minutes outside Winnipeg made travelling less stressful for families.

“For a lot of families, it was their first time camping, so it was really nice to be at a place like Camp Manitou where you’ve got a lot of updated facilities, but it’s still surrounded by nature,” said O’Donovan. “Especially since Camp Manitou is so close to the city, families aren’t having to fly 10 hours and then hop on a bus for another few hours just to get to camp.”

Each family also got their own cabin, allowing them to have their own space but still be close to other families while immersed in nature. Camp Manitou offers 39-acres of space made up of forests, grass playing fields, a custom-made lake, and meeting and activity spaces, but the well-organized campus made it easy for families to navigate and safe for kids to run around freely.

Another perk of hosting Phoenix Family Camp at Camp Manitou was the wide range of activities camp offers, like ziplining, archery, rock climbing and a swimming pool, with experienced Camp Manitou employees running each activity.

“It was really important to have that support of the facility, so you’re not by yourself trying to figure out how to engage or entertain people or how to teach activities that you’re not knowledgeable about,” said O’Donovan.

Along with other activities like field games, basketball, soccer, and sidewalk chalk, Camp Manitou and Phoenix Family Camp also offered families a space for support and healing.

“We found it really important to not only do the camp activities, but to also have separate programming for the caregivers and the kids,” said O’Donovan. The adults participated in a presentation about dealing with guilt, shame, and grief after burn injuries, while the kids learned how to respond to questions about their injuries and discussed self-awareness, focusing on the positives of the different talents and special qualities of each kid.

The weekend was wrapped up with a celebration and dance party to remind burn survivors and their families of the purpose of Phoenix Family Camp.

“We wanted to celebrate that they’re survivors and not victims of their burn injuries,” said O’Donovan. “There’s not a lot of opportunities for people to get together in the community and to do certain programming geared toward parents and their kids, so having the chance to focus on their own healing was really important.”

Camp Manitou is available year-round for groups looking to host day or overnight events and are flexible when balancing each group’s special programming or needs with camp activities. For more information about rental options at Camp Manitou, visit, campmanitou.mb.ca.