You may have heard about some big changes we’re making in 2015 (if you haven’t, stop reading this and get the whole story here). Just to clarify, Invisible Children is not closing – we’re scaling back our U.S. operations so that we can focus entirely on our advocacy and central Africa programs.

We’re not gonna lie – transition and change are difficult. However, we are SO proud of our programs and of our small but mighty team that will keep up our most essential work next year.

But don’t just take our word for it. Meet a few of of our friends who are directly involved in this life-saving mission:

Members of the U.S. government

Representatives Ed Royce and Jim McGovern are some of our biggest heroes in Congress, and they’ve repeatedly lead the charge to make the LRA issue a priority in our nation’s policymaking. This summer, they both sponsored a letter to President Obama, asking him to extend the U.S. advisory counter-LRA mission in central Africa. They introduced the letter to Congress, and 74 more representatives signed on. Pretty incredible. Here’s what they said about our work:

“By creating ground breaking awareness campaigns, Invisible Children successfully got millions of Americans – including our nation’s policy leaders – concerned and engaged about Joseph Kony and his brutal Lord’s Resistance Army. Invisible Children had a hard choice to make and I commend them for making the right one – choosing to continue their life-saving operations in Central Africa. I am eager to see the next chapter of the organization.”
–Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

“I am proud to have worked alongside Invisible Children and its passionate grassroots network over the past several years. They have raised awareness in Congress and around the world about the horrifying violence perpetrated by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army against innocent civilians, especially children. They have helped create new law and policies to counter LRA violence. They work with many partners in central Africa to protect civilians from LRA violence and to help those abducted by the LRA to defect, heal their physical and psychic wounds, reintegrate back into civilian life and become agents for change. They have truly made a difference, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as they make this transition over the next two years.”
–Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Leaders and partners in the Central African Republic

We are also continuing our most effective protection and recovery programs in central Africa. Meet a few of our partners who are directly involved in the work:

“It is particularly satisfying to work with Invisible Children in creating local security policies for our community as we now feel more equipped facing the LRA threat … We hope that sharing information from the [Early Warning Radio Network] to our neighborhood will guarantee peace and security.”
–Simone, Community Protection Committee – Mboki, CAR

“I am a victim myself as the LRA looted my house and attacked my wife, we need to get the LRA out of our community but we do not know how….We learned through Invisible Children that with the protection committee we can have our security in our own hands and take action to protect our community.”
–Mister Ngama Maire of Rafai – Community Leader, CAR

“The fliers are useful in stopping the LRA, I want some as well to distribute to every single person coming on my boat. Everyone knows in the Haut-Mbomou these are from Invisible Children and are very important in ending the terror of the LRA.”
–Pierre, River Boat Operator in Kerre, CAR

“As a vulnerable group impacted by the LRA in the region, we really appreciate the work of Invisible Children in building the resilience of our communities and encouraging us to take action for our own protection and development. Plus there has never been another NGO coming here to build our capacity before.”
–President of an Internal Displacement Camp in Rafai, CAR

“Invisible Children is building a center to address the key issue of reintegration of former LRA and support to vulnerable groups in our community at a time where after the violence we have seen every NGO has left the area.We hope we can continue as a community to participate in efforts to end the LRA.”
–Marie Djada Maire of Mboki, CAR

“The aim is to psychologically prepare the community to welcoming and integrating LRA defectors in the community. It is key because most of the LRA are victims themselves after being abducted as children but it is not an easy task [to accept surrendering LRA] due to the acts they committed in CAR to the local communities.”
–Miller, Community Defection Committee project manager

“On November 30th – a defector heard the Mobki CDC Come Home messages on the radio and saw our fliers in the bush; he then decided to escape the LRA to reach our CDC in Mboki as he felt it was a safe and secure place for him. We hope that there will even more and more defections and that way the LRA will end and we will safe again.”
–Miller, Community Defection Committee project manager

We are proud of the work that will continue in 2015, and we need your voice more than ever. To get involved:

  1. Donate to the Finishing Fund to support our continued work in central Africa that is protecting communities and empowering LRA members to come home.
  1. Join Citizen, our volunteer activist network. We’ll let you know every time we need you to reach out to your political representatives.