Defection Fliers

Our Work

About the Program

Invisible Children works with partner organizations and local leaders to send “come home” messages directly to LRA groups. Many LRA, whether recently abducted or longtime combatants, have a strong desire to escape and return home. Invisible Children’s fliers have photos of former LRA members and instructions for surrendering safely, often with specific locations.

Encouraging and facilitating the peaceful surrender of LRA combatants is one of the most effective ways to reduce threats to communities in central Africa and weaken the LRA’s ability to effectively operate. International actors, including the militaries tracking the LRA, are highly supportive of and contribute to “come home” messaging with the ultimate goal of peacefully removing the LRA from the battlefield. Many LRA combatants are unwilling combatants and have little desire to continue fighting. They are hundreds of kilometers from home and far away from the original political goals of the LRA. To capitalize on the weakening resolve of LRA fighters, especially Acholi who hold high-ranking positions and command groups of people, Invisible Children has developed messaging to encourage LRA combatants to surrender with instructions for doing so safely.

Printed on each flier is a photo of a recently-escaped LRA combatant and detailed instructions on how to escape. Utilizing the Acholi leadership at Invisible Children, LRA experts, and former members of the LRA, Invisible Children has printed more than 400,000 fliers that have been dropped from the air across DRC and CAR. With feedback from Uganda, DRC, and CAR, Invisible Children’s design team in San Diego reacts quickly to the dynamic developments of the conflict by designing fliers that include recent escapees and updated text, which is adjusted circumstantially. After being designed in San Diego, Invisible Children prints the fliers in Kampala and distributes them to actors in the field.