Twenty thousand children abducted in Uganda and surrounding nations. Thousands more civilians killed. What is being done to help those affected by rebel leader Joseph Kony and his guerrilla army, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)?
I joined almost 600 other teens and adults in the Peoples Church parking lot in the early afternoon of April 26 for an event put on by Invisible Children to bring attention to the crisis going on involving children in Africa. Invisible Children, an organization that has been around since 2003, helps to stop the violence in northeastern Africa by promoting its cause and paying for schools to be built there to educate the continent’s younger population. Their theory is that by paying for schools, they will bring up a more educated generation who will hopefully elect a more able and compassionate leader.
I was overwhelmed as I looked through the crowd for my friends from the church I attend, NorthPointe. Luckily I found them. We then gave the administration our release forms, signed in and formed lines of 20.
Before long, it was time to begin our symbolic journey. We grabbed onto a rope and headed out to Cedar Avenue. As we walked, we attracted lots of attention. Some people honked, while others yelled at us to get out of the street when we were crossing it. We screamed and cheered in response, yet wondered if they knew that we were marching for a purpose: To represent the way the children in Uganda march for miles once they are abducted with little food and water.
The journey was treacherous because we were walking during the hottest part of the day and we had to carry all our overnight supplies with us. I had squeezed all of my supplies into a backpack, but it seemed to get heavier by the minute. Before long I felt sweat drip down my back and off my neck.
After awhile, we reached the campus of California State University, Fresno. We were greeted by volunteers who collected another release form and handed out paper and wrist bands. Relieved to have a break from carrying everything, we set down our supplies and laid out our blankets and sleeping bags.
The volunteers encouraged us to make crafts and write letters to our local legislative representatives. The representatives, we learned, were required to read each and every letter they received from the public. Thus, the more letters we wrote on behalf of the Ugandan children, the more likely the United States government would be to stop the atrocity from continuing like it has been for so many years already.
By dusk, it was getting chilly. I suddenly heard a loud horn that sounded, and everyone gathered around a small stage. The Invisible Children volunteers proceeded to explain to us the importance of our presence on this special evening. They encouraged everyone to donate $5 and write two or more letters to our representatives.
The point of the event is to bring out the media and a mogul to come and “rescue” us, they explained. A mogul is anyone who gets a lot of media attention and has a strong influence in the community. If a mogul came out, the event would undoubtedly bring more attention to the international crisis. The media had already come, they said. Now we just needed someone famous.
Then we had more free time. I spent this time writing my two letters to President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger, chatting, gluing together a simple art project and knotting a bracelet out of string.
The night was getting late and everyone was worrying about whether or not a mogul would come to rescue us. “What if nobody comes?” I wondered. “How long will we have to stay here?”
The Invisible Children administrators gathered us together again by way of the loud horns. Three native Ugandans had come to share their stories with us, the volunteers explained.
The men, which included the principal of Clovis West High School, Ben Drati, spoke of their experiences in their home country. Their stories were different, but there was one common theme: the rebel leaders of the LRA and Kony had caused them great pain by abducting people they knew, in some cases including close relatives. I found it encouraging that, despite trials at young ages, these three men had made for themselves great, successful lives.
I suddenly felt a stab of sadness in my heart as I imagined being taken away from my home. The children in Uganda and the surrounding countries, often years younger than me, are forced to leave their community and brainwashed to kill all enemies. I realized that those of us in America who have a voice to stop this monstrosity should use that voice; we should speak out against Kony and the LRA.
Fortunately, a mogul soon came. I was lying down in bed, shivering, when the horn sounded again. All the demonstrators gathered around a small stage where Nathan Magsig, a Clovis city councilman, proceeded to give a speech. His speech was diplomatic yet reassuring; Magsig encouraged us to continue to speak up for important causes and said that it was people like us who have helped bring awareness to the situation in Uganda.
After Magsig’s speech, it was time to go back to bed. I curled up under my blankets and continued to shiver. I soon fell asleep, but only to wake up an hour later. I woke up several times throughout the night due to the cold, but I realized that the cold is the least of the problems of the children in Africa.
At six the next morning, the horns blared again. Everyone woke up, packed and headed home. Most people had rides waiting for them, but some people had to walk back to Peoples Church to get their cars. Fortunately, one of my Bible study leaders offered to take me home, and she had parked at the event.
I came away feeling grateful for something simple: the safety that my parents and the United States government provide for me every day. Rather than having to flee every night to a city several miles away from my family and hiding out underneath a hospital as many Ugandan children do, I went home and slept in my own bed. Also, I realized how blessed I am to have at least three good meals a day with snacks in between, since many Ugandan children eat only once a day, if that.
I believe Invisible Children is a great cause to support because it brings attention to the crisis in Uganda, which needs to be stopped. Though it may seem distant and irrelevant to teens in the United States, we should recognize the injustice of the situation and stand together to correct it.
