Camp HarmonY: a journey of youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and cultural connections through international summer camps within the framework of “Camp Europe” programme.

“My name is Peggy, and I work as the Day Camp Director at YMCA Camp Duncan, one of the greatest summer camps in America (although I may be a little biased, as I attended Camp Duncan for 10 summers growing up). Camp Duncan is part of the Metropolitan Chicago YMCA Association, and we are located in Volo Illinois, about an hour outside of the city in the Northwest Chicago Suburbs.

Camp Duncan hosted the first Campacity in 2023, and I was lucky enough to be asked by Bobby, our Executive Director at the time and one of the many amazing people who organize Campacity, to help drive the camp bus downtown to the Y-USA office and pick up the participants for the first year. This was my first introduction into international YMCAs, and the amazing work that the Y does across the globe.

I was instantly inspired by how much other YMCAs do, especially after learning that internationally and especially in Europe, the YMCA is dependent on volunteers to be able to run their programs. I think that Campacity is important for the growth of camps and camping in Europe and the US, by sharing ideas, expanding networks, and giving and receiving feedback on what we can all do better to make camps and camping continue to have a positive impact on youths and in youth work.

At Campacity in 2023, I met many of the leaders that mademake Camp HarmonY happen, and spent the next few months asking Bobby daily to send me to Romania so that I could be a part of the Camp HarmonY team. In 2023, I attended Camp HarmonY 2.0.

This was an experience like no other, and I was so grateful to be able to not only share some of my knowledge on camps and camping, but to take home so many lessons about how much you can achieve with minimal supplies when you have volunteers who are dedicated to inspiring young people and building the next generation of leaders.

Camp HarmonY opened my eyes to the potential that camp has to be utilized to inspire, engage, and uplift young people with programming that is not only fun but also intentional. The activities are not limited to games, arts & crafts, and recreational activities, but also include lessons on bridge-building, crossing borders and fostering cultural understanding, and learning about leadership and teamwork.

I find it inspiring the way that YMCA Romania, in partnership with YMCA Moldova and YMCA Ukraine, use their summer camps and Camp HarmonY specifically as a trauma healing mechanism for war affected youth. Many of the campers at Camp HarmonY come from Ukraine, and their camp week starts with what I can only assume is a difficult journey across the border, but once they arrive at camp, they can just be kids again.

Camp can be such an amazing place to create bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime, while teaching kids how they can become the next generation of peace builders and harmony creators. Throughout the week, it was so cool to see campers from Romania and Ukraine teaching each other words in their language, bonding over how to say please and thank you amongst many other things, while also becoming more confident in their ability to speak English.

If you asked me what my favorite part Camp HarmonY was, I would findfine it nearly impossible to choose just one. I loved working with the volunteers and seeing their passion for youth work, watching campers step out of their comfort zone and learn that camp is a place where you can truly be yourself, and seeing young people learn that it is okay to fail and try again.

I loved seeing the growth over the last year in campers that attended Camp HarmonY 2.0, and creating friendships and bonds with campers that were new this year. I loved seeing campers conquer language barriers and create lifelong friendships.

I guess if I really had to choose just one part of camp that was my favorite, it would be the opening and closing campfires, and seeing campers break out of their shell on the final night of camp to lead a song, share a story, or remind us all that at the end of the camp week we don’t say goodbye, we just say see you later.”