Friday, April 18 2008 brought a group of three individuals, self-proclaimed ‘roadies', to the University of Tennessee to discuss one of the most horrifying tragedies quietly taking place within present international society: the Ugandan civil war, and it's effect on children over the past two decades. 

The Group's Purpose 

Invisible Children, the non-profit organization fueled by individuals like those who visited UT, was the over-arching theme through which these advocates introduced our campus to the issues at hand.  

Primarily, the Ugandan Civil War, birthed in the mid 1980's, has been the result of conflict between the Ugandan government and various rebel guerilla groups, namely the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA, headed by ruthless leader Joseph Kony, is infamous for abducting young males and forcing them to serve as soldiers in their army or abusing young females as concubines for older male soldiers sometimes as young as eight years old. 

I want to be a doctor because I've seen so many people suffering, they are not supposed to suffer. Okello SundayNot only the children are being brutalized, the Ugandan people of all ages live everyday in fear of being kidnapped, tortured or even killed if found by the LRA or other guerilla groups that prey on the Ugandan villages. This fear has lead people away from their villages, which are often attacked or hijacked, and into the shoddy displacement camps established to provide safety for these fearful people. 

Speech, Movie Viewing at UT 

The campus visitors orchestrated the screening of a short film, Black, which chronicled the ten day, Ugandan experience of several Americans, namely Bobby Bailey, who was directly involved with the original venture into the African continent with two other colleagues that eventually lead to the construction of Invisible Children, whose chief aim above all is to aid those suffering in Uganda, while raising awareness about the horrific pandemonium endemic to that region.  

During the return visit to Uganda, Bobby met Okello Sunday and was yet again inspired to make a change. Sunday, a fifteen year old refugee living in one of the displacement camps, ventures beyond the safety of the camp to work everyday in order to earn money to pay school fees. He is attending school with the hopes of becoming a doctor. 

"I want to be a doctor because I've seen so many people suffering," Sunday stated during the film. "They are not supposed to suffer." 

Sunday has lived his entire life internally displaced within his country. Since the loss of his parents, the determined young man has been forced raise himself. Even during times of illness, like the time he caught malaria during the film and could not work or attend school.  

The short, documented journey of Bobby Bailey and his compatriots during Black elucidated what is everyday overlooked across the globe: these people are suffering through a never-ending nightmare, and they need our help.  

The Invisible Children work closely with Resolve Uganda, a Washington DC based affiliate, to elicit action within our government, and through the work of roaddiesInvisible Children has taken a liberty in fighting against that injustice. Several efforts embody their overall support for the African people. The Bracelet Campaign, a project whereby the displaced Ugandans can work within their camps creating bracelets that are packaged and sold in the United States, provides financial income for the select individuals, but the organization is also instrumental in providing classes teaching the Ugandans how to better manage income to prolong the success of their work with the organization. 

Get Involved 

The Visible Child Scholarship, a program whereby adolescents are given a trained mentor to help them succeed academically, socio-politically and physically amidst the wartimes, is yet another way Invisible Children is trying to galvanize positive change among the devastation.  

They work closely with Resolve Uganda, a Washington DC based affiliate, to elicit action within our government, and through the work of roadies, such as those UT encountered this past Friday, they are spreading awareness and equipping everyday people with the most powerful tool against this injustice: knowledge.  

The advocates encouraged the willing to get involved by simply sending a letter to your state senator expressing concern over the war in Uganda, which increases the livelihood of this issue within our government so that it is no longer overlooked, as it has been by large for the greater length of its existence.  

Those interested in learning more can visit their website at www.invisiblechildren.com