More than 8,000 Pathfinders and leaders from several countries gathered between December 24 and 30, 2023, on the campus of Valley View University, in Oyibi, in the metropolitan area of Accra, the capital of Ghana, for the 4th Camporee of the West-Central Africa Division (WAD). Over the course of the week, more than 100 Pathfinders were baptized — a figure that organizers presented as an unprecedented milestone in the history of the event in the region.
As reported by Adventist World and Adventist Review, the gathering — named the "Dream" Camporee and inspired by the biblical journey of Joseph — combined camping, training, field activities, and spiritual programming. The WAD Youth director, Alfred Asiem, described the baptisms as a remarkable achievement and a record for the division's camporee.
What happened, in one sentence
The West-Central Africa Division (known by its English acronym WAD, for West-Central Africa Division) gathered more than 8,000 Pathfinders, young-leadership Ambassadors, and volunteers at its 4th regional camporee, held in Ghana in late December 2023. The event was hosted on the campus of Valley View University, an Adventist institution located in Oyibi, in the Accra region.
Beyond the impressive number of participants, the figure that took center stage in the denominational press coverage was the baptisms: more than 100 over the course of the week. According to Adventist World, the WAD Youth director, Alfred Asiem, described the result as a remarkable achievement and a record for the camporee — a sign, in his words, of the emphasis on mission and spiritual growth that the division has been bringing to its programs.
Saturday's spiritual programming, the high point of any camporee, featured a message from the world director of Youth Ministries of the Adventist Church, Pastor Busi Khumalo, of the General Conference headquarters, who took part in the gathering alongside other division and world church leaders.
What a camporee is — and why this one matters
For those just arriving at the movement, an explanation is in order: a camporee is the large campout bringing together several Pathfinder clubs from the same area. Depending on the level, it can gather clubs from a region, a field (conference or mission), a union, an entire division — as in this case — or even the whole world. It is the moment when the routine of the club's weekly meetings scales up: thousands of young people camping together, skills competitions, drill and marching, nature activities, music, and spiritual programming.
A division camporee, like the WAD's, is among the largest events a typical Pathfinder gets to experience, second only to world camporees. The West-Central Africa Division spans more than 20 countries of western and central Africa — from Ghana and Nigeria to Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, and several others — which gives a sense of the logistical effort of bringing 8,000 people to a single campus.
For the Brazilian Pathfinder, accustomed to the large camporees of the South American Division, the Ghana event is a window into realizing that the same uniform, the same ideal, and the same class programming exist in dozens of countries, in realities quite different from our own.
The baptisms: a record for the division
Baptisms during camporees are nothing new — the ceremony is usually one of the most anticipated moments, when Pathfinders who prepared throughout the year make the decision to be baptized before thousands of peers. What drew attention in Ghana was the number: more than 100 baptisms at a single regional camporee, something that, according to organizers, had not been recorded before on that scale in the division.
According to Adventist Review, the WAD Youth director, Alfred Asiem, linked the result to the event's missionary focus. The coverage also noted that the camporee was designed from the outset with a strong emphasis on spiritual decision, and not only on competition and recreation — an approach that brings the event closer to the original purpose of the Pathfinder movement, which was born as a church program to reach and shape young people.
An important reporting caveat: the figure released — "more than 100" — is the one reported by the division's leadership and reproduced by the Adventist press. There is, in the sources consulted, no exact total broken down by country or by club.
Read alsoInternational Camporee draws more than 60,000 to Gillette and records 1,187 baptismsThe 250 km walk that became a symbol of the camporee
One of the most striking stories of the event did not happen on stage, but on the road. According to Adventist News Network (adventist.news), three Pathfinders walked more than 155 miles — about 250 kilometers — from the city of Takoradi, on Ghana's western coast, to the campus of Valley View University, where the camporee was taking place.
The walk lasted approximately four days, departing on December 21 and arriving on December 25, 2023, with the camporee already underway. The goal, according to the report, was to raise funds for orphaned children in the region — a solidarity initiative that, according to the account, dates back to a tradition begun years earlier by one of the walkers. On arrival, the three were welcomed with honors: an escort, a band, and recognition before the participants.
Stories like this help explain why the camporee is not just a large campout. It works as a showcase of the values the club tries to teach all year long — service to others, perseverance, teamwork — condensed into gestures that young people take home with them.
Where it was held: Ghana and Valley View University
Ghana is a country in western Africa, with English as its official language, and one of the most traditional hubs of Adventism in the region. The choice of Valley View University as the venue was no accident: founded by the Adventist Church, it is considered the first accredited private university in Ghana and offers the campus infrastructure — lodging, open areas, auditoriums — needed to host an event of thousands of people.
The main campus is in Oyibi, northeast of Accra, the capital. For many of the Pathfinders coming from other countries in the division, the trip there involved long overland journeys, which makes the mark of 8,000 participants all the more significant in terms of mobilization.
Why this matters to the Brazilian Pathfinder
The Pathfinder movement is the same all over the world, with small local variations in calendar, classes, and uniform. A division camporee in Africa shows, in practice, that the Pathfinder ideal — "By the grace of God, I will be pure, kind, and true" — is repeated in dozens of languages, and that the same moments that move a club in the interior of Brazil (the campfire, the drill, the Saturday baptism) are repeated thousands of kilometers away.
For leaders and directors, events like the WAD's also serve as a programming reference: the decision to place spiritual and missionary emphasis at the center of the camporee, and not only competition, is a pedagogical choice that speaks directly to what is discussed in Brazilian clubs. And for the Pathfinder who dreams of taking part in an international camporee one day, it is a reminder that the Adventist family of young people is global.
In the following years, the division signaled the continuity of that mobilization with new youth gatherings and the projection of an upcoming regional camporee, keeping the same spirit of bringing together thousands of Pathfinders around faith, service, and friendship.