Youth on the Move is a Kenyan organization for and by young people with epilepsy and eliminates the misunderstanding surrounding this common chronic neurological disorder.
The organization was set up by 1%Club member Karyn who came up with the idea during her studies in Kenya. She saw a television report about a community who struggled with a boy who has epilepsy. From the story it was clear that the family and community didn’t quite know what to do with him. Karyn was moved by the piece and set out in her own effort to do something about it. She decided to look up different organizations active in the field, but to her surprise she only discovered a single organization that offered any kind of medical care. Let alone personal guidance. She knew this had to change and was inspired to start Youth on the Move. The project started in 2007 and is now an officially registered NGO in Kenya.
So what do they do? They have set up a training center in Western Kenya for young people who face this common chronic neurological disorder. The center consists of a simple classroom and functional cyber cafe. But its not the structure that matters but what happens inside. The training center gives young people a chance to connect with one another and to share in their experiences. They also go online where they can connect with other youth from around the world. Its pretty amazing to be living with epilepsy in Western Kenya and to have a chance to connect with someone who faces similar challenges in a place like Poland or the US. Needless to say Karyn is inspired and the young people who fill her training center are happy to have a place like this to go.
As with all things, they can’t go this road alone and have asked me for support. So I went to the 1%Club and donated 25 euros and now I am writing this blog to see if other people might want to do the same!
Want to support this project?
Check it out on the 1%Club
