Children. Many people live in a sort of sheltered world. It is extremely hard

to believe that there are places on Earth where it can be completely

unbearable and nearly impossible to survive. One of these places being

Uganda, Africa. This once neglected part of Africa has been suffering for over

23 years, and until fairly recently no one seemed to notice. So what made

them finally notice? Three guys who decided they wanted to and could make

a difference. The results were remarkable, and a call for change is being made

to help all of the oppressed residing in Uganda.

Everything happens for a reason, and the reason for all of the pain and

suffering in Uganda can be traced back to one man by the name of Joseph

Kony.

Joseph Kony

Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) which continually

rebels against the Ugandan government. These rebels were not getting the

support they needed from the civilians and decided that abducting children

was their best solution. Young boys and girls are abducted, and the girls are

raped and killed while the boys are turned into malicious child soldiers. “It is

estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as

children,” (Invisible Children). The Ugandan children traveled miles at night

to find safe places to sleep, hidden from LRA, and many families moved into

unsanitary and over-crowded displacement camps in order to stay

protected. These thousands and thousands of suffering people needed saving

and the only people who could help them had to be outsiders.

Laren Poole, Bobby Bailey, and Jason Russell

Laren Poole, Jason Russell, and Bobby Bailey decided in the spring of

2003 to travel to Uganda and document the tragedies that took place there.

Their own lives were in danger, but they were determined to help save these

suffering Ugandans at any cost that was necessary. The documentary entitled

Invisible Children exposed a world that everyone seemed to turn a blind-eye

to. These three young gentleman were able to reach out to so many people

and make them see these children and their families who were otherwise

“invisible”. Six years later, the film has sparked so much attention that

people all over the world are helping to promote change and make a

difference.

Invisible Children has turned into a huge cause that has gained so

many sponsors, supporters, and participants. Their website Invisible

children.com has developed so much over these last years that it has been

made so simple for anyone to help out that wants to. Many campaigns have

been started in order to raise money to help improve the unsafe and

unsanitary living conditions the Ugandans are stuck with. Schools for

schools, Tri, and the bracelet campaign are just some of the ways Invisible

Children is making an effort. Raising money, however, can only do so much

because the violence still has not ended. Joseph Kony, the root of the

problem, needs to be stopped along with the LRA in order to bring peace to

Uganda. That is why Invisible Children’s main goal is to recruit the help of the

current president, Barack Obama. They have three main goals that they

would like Obama to help out with. Number one, to help lead to the arrest of

Joseph Kony. Number two, to sign and implement a LRA Disarmament Law.

And number three, to help with the recovery of the affected Ugandan

communities. (Invisible Children). Invisible Children has been campaigning

to get as many signatures as possible in a petition for the President’s help.

There is one obvious method that can be used in order to gain as much

attention as possible, and that is the media. Television, radio, newspapers,

and magazines are always the best way to get information out in the open.

After all, Invisible Children has become so popular because of a single

documentary film. The three founders and all of their team knew that the

media was their key to success. So they started their campaign entitled The

Rescue.

Many cities in the United States, but also some from all over the world, took

part in this campaign. Volunteers decided that they would represent the

abducted children in Uganda by sleeping out in the streets and marching

towards each other until all of the cities met for a huge rally. The object was

for each city to be rescued by either a celebrity or a political figure. This way

they could gain the media’s attention and raise awareness about their cause.

Word spread fast through Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube as the world’s

youth took part in supporting such a great cause. Slowly things began to take

notice as the “Rescue Riders” and their cause were being documented. MTV,

Las Vegas Channel Three, Relevant Magazine,  Google News, The Star

Tribune, and many other widely viewed means of networking began to

mention Invisible Children and their newest campaign.

With any great success comes many struggles, and the city having the

most trouble at getting rescued was Chicago. The “abducted” in Chicago had

one main goal and that was to get rescued by Oprah.

Everyone knows that if you can get Oprah’s attention you can grasp the

attention of thousands of people everywhere. After about a week of sleeping

in the cold, wet Chicago streets many volunteers were completely

discouraged. Finally, after such a struggle they were able to get Oprah’s

attention making them the very last city to be rescued.

In the documentary it is clear that it was completely liberating for everyone

taking part in the event to have finally reached their goal. Overall, the

campaign proved to be a complete success as Invisible Children was able to

capture the attention of people all over the world. The media had a huge

impact on their success and has provided them with a means to let their

voices be heard.

It is clear that since Poole, Russell, and Bailey made their documentary,

they have made a huge difference. With how technology is advancing these

days it is the best way to reach out to the public. Journalism has always been

a way to tell news, but now it has become a way to advocate for a cause.

Many people have been touched by the Ugandans’ stories and have since

then found their own ways to support the cause. For example, Loveland High

School in Colorado has made an effort to collect used books that can be sent

to the newly constructed schools in Uganda. My senior English class at

Amos Alonzo Stagg High School decided that we would try to raise awareness

on our own. We made bracelets for our own version of a bracelet campaign,

and we had bake sales and shirt sales. I decided to start a letter writing

campaign which had to be one of the most fulfilling tasks I have ever

accomplished. It took a lot of work to decide what to write, who to write to,

and how we were going to pay for it all. We used some of the donations from

our bake sale to pay for postage and our English Department agreed to help

chip in and pay for the actual post cards. I wrote my letter and decided that

we would send them to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr.

Ban-Ki Moon.

The Letter

The letters were copied and my whole class worked hard to get

as many signatures as possible.

Letter Writing Campaign

We also held a single event night in which we showed the original

documentary film and had some of our local bands perform in order to gain

attention. Overall, we had raised over $1,000 and had received over 400

signatures. It was so gratifying to know that our little event could make such

a difference, and all it took was gaining  attention by spreading the word.

The people in Uganda, Africa should never again have to worry about

whether or not they will live another day. People all over the world are now

striving to make a difference and it is all thanks to one film. One documentary

made by three guys, and the world now sees.

The World Now Sees

Works Cited

Glass, Melanie. “Invisible Children.” New University. 16. Nov. 2009. Web. 28. Dec. 2009. <http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/11/features/invisible-children/>.

Invisible Children. Causecast. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. <http://www.causecast.org/org/invisible-children>.

Invisible Children. Dir. Jason Russel, Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole. El Cajon, Calif. 2006. Film.

Invisible Children. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php>.

Widhalm, Shelly. “Books for a Better World.” Reporter-Herald. Daily Reporter-Herald, 29 Nov. 2009. Web. 28. Dec. 2009. <http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=25916>.