YFDN hosts residential camp for 33 young people

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Youth-For-Development Network (YFDN), through its Youth Champions Initiative (YCI), has concluded its flagship residential camp, #CampHEART2Art 2026, bringing together 33 young people from 12 communities across four parishes for a five-day programme focused on leadership, life skills, creative expression and community-building.

According to a release from YFDN, the camp was held from August 12–16 at Tapioca Village Retreat in St Mary and featured sport, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, psychosocial support, innovation and cultural expression. The programme was rooted in the belief that “Sport is the entry point. The development is the destination.”

The camp brought together youth from Clarendon, Kingston, St James and St Catherine, many of whom were first-time travellers outside their home parish. Participants were organised into five cross-community family groups, where they built bonds of trust and solidarity that transcended geography, background and circumstance.