Iceland is one of the world's first independent, democratic nations and is the second largest island in Europe. Located 180 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Iceland's nearest neighbor is Greenland to the west, followed by Scotland to the southeast, and Norway to the east. The landscape is wild, rugged and colorful, with black lava, red sulphur, hot blue geysers and green valleys.
With a population of approximately 320,000 people, Iceland is one of the smaller nations in the world, and it is the least densely populated of all European nations. More than 60 percent of the country's population resides in or near the capital city of Reykjavik ("Bay of Smokes" named for the geo-thermal stream), situated in the southwestern region of the island.
Icelandic is the national language but English, Danish and German are also widely spoken and understood. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the official state church, but freedom of religion exists for all other congregations.
The YMCA of Iceland
The YMCA-YWCA in Iceland was founded in 1899 and celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. Because of the small number of people living in Iceland, there is only one central Y with no local branches. The YMCA-YWCA serves approximately 20,000 people each year, 6.25% of the nation.
The YMCA-YWCA in Iceland focuses mainly on youth work. About 10,000 children participate each year in various youth clubs or summer camps. The tradition of the Y's summer camps in Iceland dates back more than 90 years. Five facilities in the countryside are hosts to kids from ages six and up for sixty week-long summer camps. One special camp is for boys with AD/HD and the staff is a mix of experienced camp leaders, psychologists and experts in AD/HD.
Another focus of the YMCA-YWCA in Iceland is service projects like "Christmas in a Shoebox" where youth fill shoeboxes with small Christmas presents that are then shipped to Ukraine and distributed among orphans and children from very poor families. ▼
To learn more about YMCA work around the world, visit www.ymca.net/worldservice.
