A soldier at war, seeking to protect his country, lives daay-to-day under the constant threat of death.
In America, many adults struggle with this reality, but in some places children as young as 5 years old are grasping their guns and fighting wars. Each day children in Uganda lose their childhood years, facing a very adult issue.
According to the Invisible Children Web site, for over 25 years the children of Uganda have been subject to a bloody, brutal rebellion led by Joseph Kony, who believes he is the salvation of the Ugandan people. After running out of volunteer militia, Kony began abducting children from their homes and families, forcing them into the Lord’s Resistance Army, which furthers the rebellion.
Very few people knew of the situation until three American college students, on an adventure to Africa in 2003, stumbled upon this horrific situation. These children were forced to migrate eight miles just to find a place safe enough to sleep. Unfortunately the kidnapping of these children has yet to stop.
According to a Human Rights Watch organization’s release, “Between Dec. 14 and 17 of this past year, the rebel group killed at least 321 people and abducted more than 250 others–including many children. According to witnesses, they first asked community members for the locations of nearby schools, in order to locate children.”
Upon seeing this, the three college students decided that they needed to act now and assist in helping these children out of their situation, by founding the Invisible Children organization.
On Sunday, April 11, 2010, SPARC will be hosting an Invisible Children event at SMU in order to spread the word about the cause.
Through Invisible Children’s work and passion for this cause, life for Ugandan children has improved. According to the Invisible Children’s Web site, this organization uses the inherent rights they have in order to inspire the youth of America in an attempt to raise awareness of world genocide.
“We use the power of media to inspire young people to help end the longest running war in Africa,” the Web site says. “Our model has proven effective, and hundreds of thousands of people have been called to action through our films and the volunteers that tour them.”
Co-founder, Jason Russel, described the need to respond to this international crisis in a recent press release: “We need to respond with an international body of activists to increase the visibility of this conflict and end Joseph Kony’s reign of terror.”
In an attempt to increase the number of activists and the visibility of this conflict, SMU has been presented with a unique opportunity to allow young adults to become involved and learn more about Invisible Children’s cause. Although speaking to Invisible Children about their cause is an honor enough, this time they are bringing someone along.
For the first time in the history of Invisible Children, they are bringing Lillian, a survivor of the truly horrific events occurring in Uganda. She will share her story of what really happens to the children of Uganda, and what is still happening there.
On Sunday, April 11 Invisible Children is coming to SMU in order to spread the word about the cause. It will be located in McCord Auditorium (Dallas Hall Room 306) from 5 to 6 p.m.
