Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network

General information

The Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network (CYEN) is based at the Chrysalis Centre in Kireka, Kampala, Uganda, located on edge of the Acholi Quarter. It's a small place, but it has hosted two youth conferences and run activities as diverse as taekwon-do and watercolour painting, acrobatics and intellectual boardgames, athletics and eating competitions, as well as the first Slum Run! It's colourful and is meant to stimulate young people to think of a better future for themselves and their community. Many of the activities are run by the youth themselves, but also experts are brought in to teach specialist sports or activities.

The Acholi Quarter is a slum district in Kampala and children there are usually poorly nourished, lacking in investment and often unable to go to school, due to school fees issues. Whilst local schools are not so costly, still families have many children and thus they often cannot afford fees, let alone the activities presented at the Chrysalis Centre.

Lastly, the Chrysalis Centre is the headquarters of the Butterfly Project for young social entrepreneurs and it is here where some young people are trained up to become changemakers.

To date, CYEN has been supported only by personal donations. It has no big NGO to back it and without ongoing donations it will run out of money to continue. The Centre has enormous impact in this community and has trained young people from all over Kampala and many of these are running activities in their own local communities, having been trained at the Chrysalis Centre. So, please consider this cause and support it, if you can.

Plans are afoot to expand these services in other parts of Uganda. Watch this space!

To find out more, please contact us by sending a message to this Page, or an email to socentafrica@gmail.com.