Most young people focus on making friends, playing on school sports teams and passing their math test. But the children that Eva Payne, executive director of Project Kindle, vowed to help 10 years ago have distinctly different hopes for their futures: finding the courage to cope with HIV and AIDS, overcoming stigmas and living to experience young-adulthood.
Founded in 1998, Project Kindle is a nonprofit organization that began as a one-week summer camp, “Camp Kindle,” for children infected with or directly affected by HIV and AIDS. The cost-free camp gave these children a chance to connect with others like them.
Payne’s camp now welcomes
200 kids each summer at and has hosted more than 1,200 since its inception. This year’s camp, being held at Camp Rivercrest near Fremont, runs through Sunday.
Through its various programs, the organization reaches 15,000 young people every year. Two such programs are SPEAK OUT, which gives infected children a chance to tell their stories, and the Life Skills Retreat.
When Payne was a college student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she was learning a lot about HIV and AIDS. She passed up going back to summer camp in 1998 to take a morning show co-host position on KFRX, a local radio station. That summer she greatly missed being at summer camp and dreamt up the idea of starting a summer camp for children impacted by HIV or AIDS. There were very few services in the Midwest for children and adolescents impacted by this disease. Eva saw a need and decided to fill it.
Sue, a camper from Kansas City, Mo., has been attending camp for six years. This week she stated that camp has made her the person she is today, more open, and less sad. She wishes everyone in the world would treat people with HIV the same as anybody else.
“You would not treat me differently because I have black hair, so why treat me differently because my mom has AIDS?” she asked.
Another camper said, “Camp Kindle is my home away from home.”
“The things these children appreciate most are honesty, integrity and being cared for despite their disease,” Payne said. “We are sincerely thankful for all the people here in Nebraska and the surrounding states who have supported us over the last 10 years. It is not always easy to raise money for our cause as there is still such a huge stigma attached to the disease.”
Payne has been recognized for her work with Project Kindle by L’Oreal Paris as a “Women of Worth” and by Volvo of North America through their “Volvo For Life Awards.”
To learn more about Project Kindle, visit www.projectkindle.org or www.campkindle.org.
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