Summer Camp Teaches Valuable Life Lessons

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A summer camp in Oklahoma has been changing the lives of children since the 1960s.

Camp Dakani is located in a wooded area of Northeast Oklahoma City and campers agree, some of the greatest fun has happened in the forest's canopy

"We put a harness on to make sure you don't fall. They buckle it up and stuff," said 9-year-old camper Amber Wiggins. "You go in the swing, you just hold on and you just go down fast.

It has been a summer-time getaway for not just kids to learn something new but for the counselors who keep coming back year after year.

"I remember being a little kid, and I remember coming out here and I would always look at the counselors and I was like,'I want to do that,'" said camp counselor Gina Mengwasser.

Mengwasser is already a 12 year veteran, at only 17-years-old.

She said Camp Dakani has made a difference in her life.

"It's shown me leadership is what it's done, and it's made me the person who I am today. I can't ask any more than that," Mengwasser said.

Through the learning of outdoors skills, the camp's mission is to grow caring and confident Oklahomans.

The Camp Director said, Dakani has also taught campers diversity.

"They get to meet people from different background," said camp director Jannie Matlock. "They get to experience different things. They get to grow. As you can tell from the kids that come back from year after year, it makes a huge difference in their life."

Campers take home the lessons they learn at Dakani and apply them to their everyday life.

"I know something about being a leader. That you always have to be responsibble for the people you are leading," said 9-year-old camper Isaiah McCullough.

Camp Dakani is a Campfire USA organization.