Blog Updates and inspiration

We’ve all read the headlines and heard the newscasts: the 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, and is primarily affecting the countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (all in West Africa). Here at Invisible Children, we are no strangers to the Ebola virus; in 2012, an outbreak spread across Uganda, personally affecting […]

Before the LRA Disarmament bill was passed in 2010, no U.S. President had publicly said the words Joseph Kony or the LRA. Look how far we’ve come. Yesterday, March 25th 2014, President Barack Obama released a letter to Congress about the deployment of additional forces to central Africa, in compliance with the War Powers Act. a […]

Burmese president, Thein Sein, declared a state of emergency and deployed army troops on March 22 after sectarian violence between a Buddhist mob and local Muslims broke out in the town of Meikhtila. Anti-Muslim mobs destroyed mosques and burned down dozens of homes in three other towns over the weekend. At least 32 people have been killed […]

If the success of social enterprises in the past decade is any indication of what the future of commerce looks like, the possibilities of social change is endless. It’s a step toward shifting the idea of what commercial-based businesses could be built upon. Within our own social enterprise, Mend, we work directly with women affected by the LRA, providing […]

so·cial en·ter·prise – noun: an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders. We believe in cultivating a culturally rich world so we invest in social programs that help sustain communities. While you may think we’re talking about our favorite social enterprises MEND and VSLA (and we are) but we recently stumbled upon a similar […]

In less than a year, El Salvador’s culture has socially and economically transformed because of a truce that has carried on since March 2012 between two of it’s largest gangs—Bario 18 and MS-13. With 50,000 active gang members and 10,000 in prison, the region is considered one of the dangerous places in the world. In a collaborated effort […]

In what’s being considered the “largest single gathering of humanity,” at least 100 million people will come together over the next month where the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati Rivers converge (the Sangam) in the northern Indian city of Allahabad to partake in the ancient Hindu festival Maha Kumbh Mela. The pilgrimage, which is particularly holy because it takes place every […]

In 2012, 618 rhinos have been poached in South Africa alone, almost doubling the amount killed in the region during 2010. Home to nearly 85% of Africa’s 25,000 rhinos, South Africa has become a battleground between poacher and animal. Because of their high-valued horns in Asia (at times higher than gold), Rhinos have been increasingly hunted with […]

Jam-packed with world-changers and innovative humanitarians, every year CNN hosts an event to recognize 10 individuals who are helping others by improving communities around the globe called CNN’s Heroes. After highlighting heroes for their inspirational contribution, CNN announces its Hero of the Year. This year the honor went to Pushpa Basnet, awarding her with an additional $250,000 (in addition […]

For the past eight months, a rebel group called M23 has been causing trouble in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They claim to be fighting to improve Congo’s struggling democracy, though reports claim that they are being led by none other than Bosco Ntaganda, who has been indicted by […]