Children living in the Congo sleep with one eye open in fear of machete-clad rebel soldiers rushing into their homes and kidnapping them to serve as child soldiers. Living in terror of a real life Boogieman, the youth have been coined “night commuters” as they flee to the city where they find safety in numbers. There they find peace, if only for one night.
Across the Pacific Ocean, a new UW-Madison student group is working to protect these children. Afforded the stability of campus life, these students lead fundraising efforts to combat rebel armies that violently induct child soldiers in Central Africa. While only 31 students currently belong to the university’s Invisible Children chapter, members raised over $12,000 in their first semester this fall.
The group’s parent organization, Invisible Children, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to end the use of child soldiers in Central Africa. Its projects focus on rebuilding communities that the rebel leader Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have terrorized since 1987.
When the nation-wide fall fundraising campaign ended Dec. 14, the UW-Madison team stacked up 19th out of the 2,580 fundraising teams. In recognition of their success, Marrisa Mora, the UW junior who is leading the initiative, will travel to Uganda this spring to witness the impact of the group’s fundraising efforts.
All proceeds earned by the UW team directly finance Invisible Children’s Protection Plan. This project, which targets undermining the LRA’s current onslaught in the Congo, provides rehabilitation centers for former child soldiers. It also supports FM radio broadcasts that warn civilians of advancing LRA rebels.
Testimony is key for recruiting both volunteers and donor support to Invisible Children’s campaign. On Oct. 4, Peter King Mwaka, a 32-year-old Ugandan resident, came to campus with three other Invisible Children volunteers to share his story.
“When I was still a little boy, growing up, the LRA came in our village, and in about ten minutes, 31 people were killed,” Mwaka said. “That affected me because I virtually grew up not having any other person beside me.”
Mwaka added that while peace eventually returned to Uganda, LRA-based violence has migrated to the Congo, where people continue to be displaced, raped and killed.
“It’s kids that are fighting, kids that are being abducted and kids that are being ignored,” said UW-Madison chapter member Caitlin Bergstrom.
Invisible Children Spokesperson Suzanna Hendricks said Invisible Children is now shifting it efforts from fundraising to raising awareness about the LRA. More specifically, she said the goal of the new “Kony 2012” campaign is to elevate the profile of the war criminal, in hopes of holding him accountable.
According to Invisible Children, Kony has forced more than 30,000 children in Central Africa to fight as child soldiers. But for the last 26 years, the crimes have gone unnoticed.
“The hope is that the media and public will pay attention when Kony is apprehended and brought before the International Criminal Court,” Mora said.
While the UW chapter also turns its focus to the new campaign, Hendricks said the group continues to find innovative ways to raise money.
“They are absolutely rock stars,” she said.
