(no subject)
ESCONDIDO - Flipping through a catalog of trips available to Senior Girl Scouts, 8-year-old Danielle Han's eyes glossed over rafting and backpacking excursions but grew wide as they came upon a counseling experience at Juliette Low Camp, a facility for girls with physical and mental disabilities.
"She said, 'I'm going to do that,' and she waited and waited," said Danielle's mother and Girl Scout leader, Debra Han.
This summer, the Escondido resident, now 16, finally got her chance to work at the camp, where girls forge memories while hiking, canoeing and learning archery. Danielle spent more than a month at the camp at Lake Jacomo, in Kansas City, Mo. It is open to girls 8 to 18 with physical disabilities, and young women with mental challenges up to age 25.
"I've always wanted to be a camp counselor, and I thought it would be so cool to work in one of the few camps that served disabled girls," said Danielle, a senior at La Jolla Country Day School. "I just knew that I'd have fun and that I'd be good at it."
Being accepted required Danielle to complete several essays and lots of preliminary research. Before attending, she was mailed a three-ring binder with a list of about 30 conditions campers might have, including spina bifida, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
"We needed to write a definition and causes and characteristics for each," Danielle said. "When we got to camp, they said 'We just wanted to make sure that you knew what you were getting yourselves into.' "
Each counselor was required to create two activities for the campers representing the region where the counselor lives. Danielle chose an art project with colored sand and volleyball played with a beach ball.
Danielle served as an Outpost counselor, sleeping with girls in a platform tent 100 yards from the edge of camp. She had to be in good physical shape.
"We had days that were 120 degrees in the shade and you had to be pushing wheelchairs, lifting girls and hiking back and forth," Danielle said. "From the edge of camp to the mess hall is 100 yards. Doing that multiple times a day can get a little tiring."
As a counselor, Danielle's primary responsibility was the safety and comfort of her charges. She helped campers dress, eat, apply sunscreen and complete routine hygiene tasks, depending upon their level of mobility and abilities. Some of the campers had feeding tubes that needed to be inserted. Non-ambulatory campers had to be transferred to waterproof wheelchairs when it was time for activities in the pool.
"If they couldn't swim, then you would swim around with them in your arms," Danielle said.
During moments of repose, boundaries between camper and counselor dissolved and friendships were made.
"A lot of girls were also seniors in high school, so we'd talk about the upcoming senior year," she said. "They're not your camper for that time when you're talking to them. It was just friends.""
"She just really has her heart in the right place," said Mary Doyle, communications director for the Girl Scouts' San Diego-Imperial Council. "When you talk to Danielle, her face just lights up when she talks about her service projects."