Prayer Retreat Locations: A Review of Camp Young, Ede

Camp Young was founded and built by missionary women who gave their lives to ministry and the ambience of this retreat ground is an evidence that the lives of those missionary women were spent as a sacrifice to God's work.

It is quite old and bushy but you can feel the aura of the presbytery and the labour of bent kneels, right from the gate to the whispering leaves and the building.


 

Rooms, Dormitories, Hostels and Chalets

Rooms in Camp Young, Ede
One notable thing about Camp Young, Ede is the price of their hostels and accommodation. It is relatively the cheapest our team could find anywhere around. For students (with ID Card proof), it costs as low as 200 naira per bedspace for the hostels. While the chalets cost as low as 2000 naira. For adults, the hostels and dormitories costs 500 naira per bedspace and the chalets cost 2000 naira too. The picture directly above is a room in one of the small chalets. The small chalets are like flats and contain at least two rooms, a living room, toilets and bathrooms. A chalet contains at most 8 beds in one room. 
 


The dormitories hosts between 8 to14 bed spaces while the chalets and rooms have 4-8 bed spaces per room. The dormitories also include a common room where you can hold prayers, talks, discussions group coaching sessions, Bible study and breaking bread (literally). The halls include

  • Mobola Hall (Dormitory)
  • WMS Hall (Dormitory)
  • Anita Roper Chalet
  • Reverend J.A. Sholeye Memorial Guest Chalet
  • Janet Ogunjide Hall (Sunbeam House)
  • Shekinah Glory Chalet
  • Deborah Ijadunola Dahunsi Memorial Hall (Chalet)
  • Adelani Adeyinka Akande Hall  (VIP Suite)
  •  Grace Sagie Hall (Dining Hall)
  • Susan Aderson Hall (Event Hall)
  • Aduke Akinola Ultramodern Hall (Event Hall)

Most of the halls are named after women who were Generals in their times. The times dates far back as the 1900s when these women missionaries were doing ministry and going from town to town. As narrated by the camp secretary, each time any of the women landed in Ede, Osun state for the night, they usually slept over there. That was the first intention until it became open to campers.

Prayer Ground

At Camp Young, there are different prayer halls and locations where you can stay alone with God in prayer 


Prayer  Hut

 

Camp Young, Ede Prayer Hut

As seen in the picture above, Camp Young also has a large netted prayer hut. You can hold retreat vigils in this hut or pray all through in the day. It is a modern styled hut which is properly tiled, allowing you to sit barely on the floor. There are no seats in this hut (except if you can sit on the hut wall edges) so most times, people seat barely on the floor. There are brooms around to help you sweep and use the hut easily. There is also power supply and it is secluded from other areas in the camp, helping you to truly stay alone with God.

Feeding

The Camp is a bit far from the major town, so this means that you are advised to buy whatsoever you'd eat before coming into the retreat ground. This is because there is no restaurant or eatery inside the camp. If you want to have quality time with God and do not want to be bothered about food while at the retreat, it is advisable to take in fruits and food that can not perish easily. If you choose to fast too, you'd definitely have to break your fast, so fruits remain your best bet. 

Read: I was born into a Pastor's family but didn't get many things right about the Bible

There is an alternative to use the camp's kitchen which costs #10,000 per day. However, you have to bring your foodstuff, cooking materials (pots, spoons, plates etc) and cooking ingredients. You can also choose to pay cooks to help you out (especially if it is a group retreat) or do the cooking yourself.

Power Supply

During our visit to Camp young, we were specifically told that there is constant electric power supply. However, if there is a power outage, you can decide to rent the camp's generator for your retreat period. The rent for the generator is #500 only.

Security

The security situation in Camp Young Ede is fair enough, meeting the average standard for a retreat camp. Although, there are bushes around, it is situated in a properly fenced compound and the hostels are not far from each other. However, individuals should take extra security conscious measures in keeping your gadgets and valuables safe. You will be given the keys to your rooms so it is safe to lock up whenever you are leaving the halls.

How to get to Camp Young

Camp Young is located in Ede, Osun State Nigeria and if you want to visit for a retreat, you have to get to Osun State from wherever you are. If you can get a straight vehicle from the bus park in your location to Ede, it is just fine. However, if you cannot, just take a vehicle going to Osogbo or Ile-Ife. Osogbo is the capital of Osun state while Ile-Ife is a popular city in Osun state. From any of these locations, take a bus going to Ede, specifically telling the driver that you want to drop at Akoda junction along the expressway. From Akoda, you can then take a bus (for #150 only, there are small blue buses, popular as the means of transport in Osun state) going to Oke Gadar. That's usually the last bus top in the main town. On your way to Oke--Gadar, you'd pass through the main (first) and second gates of the Redeemers University of Nigeria, owned and managed by Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

When you get to Oke Gadar, you simply need to take a bike (#100 only) from the junction down to camp young.

Conclusion

If you are on a budget, Camp Young is a really great place to retreat. You can check out our review of Mount Carmel Prayer Village here if you want to see deluxe and executive options. However, for any retreat location you choose, you must understand that people have different experiences even in the same place. It is also important that you do not waste your time in the name of a retreat, but that you ultimately get the best out of that retreat. If you will like to have a retreat at Camp Young Ede, you can reach out to:


This review was originally published on 6th October, 2021. By the time you are reading this, it is likely that there are slight changes in price or description. While we will try to update you with changes, we advise that you do your due diligence search before you embark on your journey for the retreat. You may ask people who have had retreats there more recently so that you have a better idea of things.

Have you ever been to Camp Young recently, kindly share your experience in the comments section below.


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  1. Thanks so much for this information. I came online searching for retreat centres and this has proved very helpful. Thank you

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  2. It's so good to know that this helped you. We'd try to keep updating this page for future referencing. God bless you!

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  3. Thanks for this timely robust description. Do you info about that of MZFM in Ife too? I think they call it Habitation of Faith

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    1. Yes. We are working on a review of the Habitation of Faith, Ile-Ife and the link will be up soon. You can subscribe to our email list to stay updated.

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  4. Thanks for the info. Pls do you have contacts of any of the staff or management for more details. Thanks

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  5. Thanks greatly for the information.

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  6. This is great place that I knew and lived closed to the location.
    I wish I can still experience the old life there anytime soon during my visit

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