August 28, 2026

Camp Donard: Building Community Beyond Borders

This August, Greenhill YMCA welcomed a group of young people and leaders from YMCAs across Ukraine to Northern Ireland for Camp Donard, supported through YMCA Europe’s Roots for Peace programme.

What began as an idea to give young Ukrainians the opportunity to experience a Greenhill summer camp developed into something much bigger. With additional support from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, we were able to bring seven young people from Northern Ireland alongside seven young people from Ukraine, creating a week focused on friendship, shared experiences and learning from one another.

Based around YMCA Ireland’s values of Welcome, Opportunity, Peace and Justice and Wellbeing, the week included hiking Slieve Donard, river bouldering, canoeing, cultural workshops, Irish and Ukrainian dancing, a visit to Belfast, outdoor challenges and our very blue and yellow Colourfest.

But the activities were only part of Camp Donard. The real impact came from the relationships built throughout the week. Young people shared their cultures, talked openly about their experiences, supported each other through emotional moments and, very quickly, became one group rather than two.

For our young people from Northern Ireland, the conflict in Ukraine became about much more than something they see on the news. For our Ukrainian participants, we hope Greenhill offered a place where they could feel safe, have fun, try new things and simply enjoy being young people.

One participant summed it up during our reflections: “I never thought it would be this meaningful to connect, this has definitely been the best week of my life.”

Camp Donard reminded us that community can go far beyond borders. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who made the week possible and hope this is only the beginning of many more opportunities for exchange, friendship and partnership across our YMCA movement.