It’s been a busy few weeks for our team in the Central African Republic (and a little bit of a party), as we hosted a symposium on Come Home Messaging last Tuesday, alongside some major players in the counter-LRA initiative.

Come Home Messaging is an effort to encourage LRA defection by using targeted personal messages from recent LRA returnees, local leaders, and the families and friends of current combatants. These messages are aired on local FM and shortwave radio stations and through helicopter speakers over known LRA locations in central Africa.

Sponsored by the African Union Regional Task Force and US Special Forces, the Come Home Symposium brought together local civil society and humanitarian groups involved in counter-LRA efforts. The event provided an opportunity for stakeholders to collaborate with others in the community who share the same goals.

In addition to an afternoon of music, food and dancing, several guests of honor weighed in on the LRA issue, including General Sam Kavuma, Commander of the AURTF, Ugandan People’s Defense Force Colonel Mike Kabango, United States Colonel Kevin Leahy, Ugandan State Minister for Water Resources Betty Bigombe, Paramount Chief of the Acholi people Rwot David Onen Acana and US Department of State Field Representative for LRA Issues Martin Reagan.

The most recent combatant to defect from the LRA and his family sat front row to every speech, as living proof of the success of Come Home Messaging.

“These individuals, they’ve made, proudly, the toughest decision of their life when they decided to come out of the bush,” United States Colonel Kevin Leahy said of the family.

With two Ugandans defectors present, Leahy commended them for not believing LRA propaganda, and for having the courage to trust those they surrendered to.

“You presence will tell [other LRA members] their fears are unfounded,” he said.

Before calling it a day, all guests of honor had the opportunity to record their own Come Home Messages to be broadcast on Invisible Children-supported FM radio stations throughout the region. These stations dedicate half-hour blocks of time to Come Home Messaging daily, a reminder to those in the bush that they have not been forgotten, and that a safe return home is possible.

Want to help us expand our coverage of these FM stations across central Africa? Donate to our central African programs here.