There have been several encouraging events in Central Africa over the last few months, and, thanks to your support, Invisible Children is continuing to pave new ground in the region.

One of the highlights from this last trip was listening to the daily security call over the Early Warning Radio Network as two mass surrenders took place. In the first incident, 17 women and children escaped after their group’s commander died of natural causes. Just a couple of weeks later, another 13 women and children from different groups escaped and surrendered further west in Congo, saying they were tired of life in the bush. Two of the women had been abducted at a young age and remained among the LRA’s ranks for more than a decade.

Invisible Children’s new Project Coordinator, Sarah Katz-Lavigne, hit the ground running. Sarah hails from Canada and holds a Masters from the London School of Economics. She’d already had a couple of years of experience working on radio projects throughout Central Africa before taking the job with IC — she’s a perfect fit, and already taking IC’s projects to the next level.

Ben Keesey, IC’s esteemed CEO, joined Sarah and me in Congo for a mission to some of the most remote areas in the region of Bas Uele. We traveled with our Congolese partners and worked on getting the Early Warning Radio Network extended further into LRA-affected areas. Today, there are 25 communities connected into the network throughout the region, and we have 12 new locations in the queue in Bas Uele, thanks to your continued support.

It was incredibly rewarding to be on the ground as Phase One of the Rehabilitation Center reached its completion. The center’s Congolese staff — comprised of one Program Manager, two counselors, and ten community screeners — are now working hard in the new building to give in-depth counseling to some of the most traumatized children in the entire region. As Phase Two gets further underway and the capacity of the center grows, up to 150 children at a time will go through the rehabilitation process and successfully reintegrate into their communities.