November 10, 2011
In northern Uganda, an “invisible” war ensues; on one side is Joseph Kony, a terrorist and leader of the guerilla group Lord’s Resitant Army, and the other side is made up of innocent children who live in a world filled with violence. Kony’s group engages in a cruel campaign that involves abducting thousands of children from their homes and forcing them to fight for his resistance army.
In 2003, Laren Poole, Jason Russell and Bobby Bailey traveled to Africa on a filmmaking trip that resulted in their documentation of this atrocity of child soldiers in Uganda.
As a result of witnessing this brutality, they created the non-profit organization, “Invisible Children” in order to promote awareness and fundraise to end the use of child soldiers through media outlets such as film.
This previous Sunday, Nov. 6 in Bradford Auditorium, Phi Beta Chi sponsored the screening of a compelling documentary, Tony, which follows the eight tragic years of a young boy hiding from guerilla abductors.
Representatives from Invisible Children were present for a Q&A session after the film. The idea to show this movie to Hamilton students derived from PBX’s philanthropy chairs, Helen Madsen ’12, Virginia Savage ’13 and Emma Sisti ’14. A friend from another school who had done something for Invisible Children sparked the idea for the society to screen the film.
Additionally, they appreiated that Invisible Children had been started and maintained by people their age because it showed that anyone can truly make a difference.
One example of how young people have the ability to make a difference is the fact that Invisible Children just got a bill drafted and passed by President Obama that pledged to create an action plan to go into Africa and find Joseph Kony.
When asked about the importance of the topic of child soldiers, Madsen responded, “I guess it’s important for all the obvious reasons: that the use of child soldiers is horrifying and completely corrupts and ruins the lives of the children.”
These kids are taken from their families and any opportunity at education, whereas most of us at Hamilton have a great opportunity to learn and are supported by our families. Mostly [PBX] liked the way Invisible Children was going about things (building schools, giving out scholarships, creating jobs), because it seemed to be more than just hand outs and was actually a sustainable practice. Invisible Children remains committed to seeking sustainable solutions to foster an environment that encourages peace. They address the need for access to education and economic development through innovative programs on the ground. They seek to rebuild schools, educate future leaders and provide jobs in Northern Uganda. Most importantly, they seek action to end the use of child soldiers.