(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Sawsan Zakaria says it's hard to put into words just how amazing it feels to go back to Association of Horizon's annual "Horizon Camp" every year.
"It just feels it feels like you're on a different planet when you're there,” she says. "Everyone is just accepted and loved and there's nothing but positivity in the air.”
At 15 months old, Zakaria was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disease affecting motor neurons.
She uses a wheelchair to get around and says "Horizon Camp" is really one of the only camps designed for people with physical disabilities.
At camp, she says, a person with a disability is paired up with a volunteer who has the ability to care for another person. Volunteers do tasks like help their partner get out of bed, get dressed and -- most importantly -- have fun.
"Being at camp is very freeing, in terms of the things that I want to accomplish. Like, I've been kayaking; I've been on a hot air balloon ride,” Zakaria says.
Horizon Camp takes place in the summer just outside Bloomington, but Association of Horizon President Dana Westley says camp volunteers and board members are active year-round, with in-person evets and social activities in the Chicago area.
The camp gives volunteers and participants an understanding of what it's like to live life from a different perspective but also finding “shared commonalities,” Westley says.
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