On Wednesday, Nov. 3, the renowned, eye-opening documentary about conflict and child soldiers in Uganda, Invisible Children, will be put on by Puget Sound’s Invisible Children Club at Kilworth Chapel.
The Northwest regional representative for the Invisible Children non-profit organization, Stuy Lewis, will be introducing the film and also speaking afterward. He will offer ways to get involved and to help stop the conflict in Uganda.
The showing will be part of Invisible Children’s “Face to Face Tour,” in which a Ugandan student and his or her mentor tour around the United States together to offer a more intimate retelling of their own experiences in order to better connect with the audience.
The film was made as a response to the deplorable tactics used by the Ugandan rebellion, specifically the abduction and training of child soldiers. Joseph Kony, leader of the Ugandan rebellion, is the man responsible for establishing such a practice. Several assassination attempts have been made to remove Kony from power. However, each one has resulted in the deaths of all who have been sent.
Kony has trained his child army in such a way that they’ve blindly killed United Nations soldiers, and even their own families, when ordered to. Kony has now taken his forces into the Democratic Republic of Congo, abducting more children there and adding them to his child army.
Invisible Children is primarily an organization that helps to fund the Schools for Schools program. Donations made to Invisible Children help educate kids and keep them away from Kony’s army. And of course, Invisible Children’s merchandise (shirts, bracelets, DVDs, etc.) also goes to the cause. Invisible Children also sends volunteers to help work in these schools and mentor the children.
Junior Sarah Webb, a co-president of the on-campus club, explained how she stumbled upon Invisible Children a couple of years ago and was immediately moved by its message. She discovered that two other girls were trying to start the Invisible Children Club at the same time so she joined them to get it passed by ASUPS.
The club meets from 7:30 to 8 every Tuesday night. Anyone is free to join, so if you’re interested, feel free to e-mail Webb at swebb@pugetsound.edu. Future projects of Invisible Children include sending representatives to speak at public schools around the Tacoma area as well as a benefit concert, likely in late November or early December, Webb said.
Whether or not you’ve seen Invisible Children already, the showing will still be worth attending, especially to hear unique, personal stories and about the future of the Invisible Children organization.
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