Blog Updates and inspiration

At Invisible Children, we believe in the equal and inherent value of all human life. This makes campaigns such as “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” particularly important. “16 Days” is a global campaign running from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, International Human Rights Day. […]

Why do we keep talking about “Come Home” messaging? Because it has proven to be the most successful tool in fostering defections from the Lord’s Resistance Army. 89% of recent LRA escapees have said that Come Home programs played a role in their peaceful surrender. Recently, some of the seamstresses at Mend mentioned the desire […]

The seamstresses at Mend have been engaging in an emotional literacy lessons called Knowledge of Behavior and Self (KOBS). KOBS is intended to empower the ladies with a better understanding of themselves and their relationships with others. Since all of the women at Mend were affected by the LRA conflict during their adolescence and early […]

As Richard Nyeko stood at the front of the room holding a large swath of purple fabric, he used the measuring tape draped around his neck to demonstrate the width of various types of folds. Even though the sewing machines were quiet and the quality control table stood empty for a time, the ladies of […]

Walk into the Mend workshop in Gulu, Uganda and the energy in the room is immediately palpable. Upbeat music plays in the background as groups of seamstresses gather around their workspaces. Mend is a social enterprise that, through the creation of handbags, empowers women affected by the LRA conflict. Each day, 22 seamstresses are joined in […]

During the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, Ajok Betty’s entire family was displaced from their ancestral land, and she never finished her primary education. At the time she joined Mend, our social enterprise, Betty was struggling to pay school fees and feed her family, and her health was suffering. By joining Mend, Betty was able to […]

Ajok Betty, a seamstress at Mend, started her own side business doing tailoring and hair plaiting on the weekends at a local market in Gulu. Mend improves the quality of life for Ugandan mothers who were directly affected by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The women are empowered through psychosocial and financial trainings and […]

Walk into Mend and you’ll find yourself surrounded by activity. Sewing, snipping and measuring as well as laughter and warm conversation. “For me, my favorite thing to talk about is my children. I have only two children, and I pray for them to have a good future.” Stella’s dream is for her son to become […]

By traveling down some scenic winding roads, past some roadside restaurants, and through small clearings of grouped huts, you will arrive at Irene’s new home – a 6-room building of bright red brick. She bought the land it’s built on with money she saved up as a seamstress at Mend, our social enterprise geared toward […]

Last week the staff and seamstresses of our social enterprise, Mend, visited The Recreation Project, an organization that utilizes a ropes course to teach “the important life skills and character-building needed to navigate a new landscape that for decades has been defined by war and conflict.” Field trips like this also support Mend’s goals of […]