Woodcraft Folk is raising money for a 23-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua, to volunteer at this summer’s Camp 100.

Woodcraft Folk is a co-operative youth movement with a focus on peace, democracy, youth empowerment, and ‘education for social change’. This year, 2025, marks the centenary of Woodcraft’s founding, and we are holding an international camp to celebrate (from 27th July 6th August). You can find out more about Woodcraft Folk here and Camp 100 here .

Kenner Leiva is part of MILAVF (Movimiento Infantil Luis Alfonso Velázquez Flores), the Nicaraguan sister organisation to Woodcraft Folk (both organisations being part of the International Falcon Movement, IFM-SEI ).

In 2022 Kenner and another Nicaraguan young person came to the international camp Common Ground as a participant. Kenner had an amazing time at this camp.

In his words, 'what I liked most about Common Ground was that I met many people and made incredible new friends. I also learned a lot about leadership and came to share that experience with boys and girls from my country. In short, I learned to be a better leader.

‘I learned a lot because the UK has a very developed culture and better education regarding topics that, at least in Latin America, are not yet given much focus, such as promoting young leaders.’ Kenner was also able to improve his English skills, and is now working as a Spanish-English translator.

Now, four years later, he is seeking support to attend Camp 100. This time Kenner will be coming as a volunteer.

Kenner says, ‘I really care about going to camp because I want to contribute from a different perspective, as a volunteer this time, to help other young people have an experience which will leave a very positive mark on their life, and I also want to continue learning and sharing with new people at camp’.

Kenner has signed up to be a ‘town librarian’ on camp, meaning he’ll be coordinating one of three ‘town library’ marquees, a key place for campers to meet, play together, host activities, and watch the daily news broadcast. The role will include liaising with people who want to hold activities in the library, and lending out books and play equipment. The library will be a relaxing space for participants which is quieter and closer to their tents than the central area, helping make programme more inclusive, as the libraries meet the needs of those who may be overwhelmed by the busy central area.

We are aiming to raise £1000 to cover Kenner's flights from Panama to London (he'll be flying from Panama to avoid US visa fees). Luckily Kenner's camp fee will be covered by the camp, and he will be able to fund his travel from Nicaragua to Panama, so the money will principally go towards his flights, but if there is any leftover it will be used to help with travel around the UK and any food costs before and after camp. Kenner would love to spend some time before / after camp travelling to a few places around the UK, visiting people and getting to know the culture outside of Woodcraft camp.

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