Invisible Children Face to Face Tour Comes to Emmanuel
October 18, 2010
The "Invisible Children Face to Face Tour," part of a nonprofit movement started by three American filmmakers seeking to end conflict in Uganda, made a stop at Emmanuel College on October 12th. The event was cosponsored by Emmanuel College Community Outreach (ECCO) and Campus Ministry and held in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall.
"I had heard about the conflict in Uganda and how it was affecting so many people and I thought Invisible Children was a powerful organization that could be effective in empowering college students," said Stephen Winker '12, a member of ECCO. "In bringing the tour to Emmanuel my hopes were to not only increase awareness of the conditions Ugandan children encounter as a result of the rebel army, but to also promote overall awareness of humanitarian issues in Africa."
The event began with a short documentary entitled, "The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers," a short documentary that follows the founders of Invisible Children Inc., who over the past six years have sought to uncover the horrific events of the war-affected regions of Africa while encouraging those in other parts of the world to help. The film featured children kidnapped by members of Kony's resistance group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which was formed in 1987 and took part in an armed rebellion against Uganda's government. Those featured in the film were able to escape from the LRA, while others are still being held captive or were killed while trying to escape.
Afterwards, another short film was shown about the event's guest speaker, Brenda, a young Ugandan women who was able to live to talk about the LRA and the turmoil that exists in her country. She discussed the signals in place in the areas of Africa where the LRA inhabit, which allow civilians to know where the members of the organization are and when they may be attacking. Because of the signals, Brenda was able to tell her story. She also spoke about the importance of TRI, an organization that helps to build schools and gives scholarships to those children that live in the war-affected parts of Africa.
"If is was not for the warning signals I would not be here," she said. "By signing up for TRI, we can do something."
To learn more about Invisible Children, Inc. click here.
