Blog Updates and inspiration

The central African region spanning the borders of the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan is one of the most vibrant and naturally abundant places on earth. And yet, communities in this region, and the natural world around them, are facing incredible threats to their safety and livelihoods. […]

At Invisible Children, the most important component of our model is our focus on creating programs that build upon the solutions to violence and exploitation that local leaders are already developing in their own communities. By doing so, we are creating programs that are led by, owned by, and create lasting change in the lives […]

Last November, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), a humanitarian research center at Harvard University, published a fascinating report highlighting community resilience in areas affected by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). “We Mobilized Ourselves” highlights the incredibly innovative solutions LRA-affected communities across central and East Africa have developed to protect their families from the LRA, […]

Meet Father Ernest: the national coordinator of SAIPED, one of Invisible Children’s closest partners in DR Congo. Father Ernest and his team at SAIPED were vital to the creation of our community resilience programming including the Community Defection Committee and Mobile Cinema programs, and continue to work alongside Invisible Children to improve community led responses […]

In June, we broke the news that an LRA group released 12 women and children captives to a community member in DR Congo. This LRA group also sent along a message with the community member that they would release even more women and children, but only if they heard news over the local FM radio […]

World, meet Jean de Dieu Kandape, Invisible Children’s Early Warning Program Manager in Central Africa. Jean de Dieu has been a key member of the Invisible Children team for just over four years and it’s no stretch to say that in that time we’ve come to love him more than a cool breeze in August. We […]

In June, the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) announced that it would resume diamond exports after a three-year ban implemented in 2013 as a result of the adoption of the Kimberley Process. The ban was put in place to prevent the sale of diamonds financing armed group violence, which broke out in CAR […]

At Invisible Children, we’re committed to ensuring community leadership is at the heart of all of our programs working to protect civilians from violence. A perfect illustration of this can be found in our Community Defection Committees (CDCs), which function alongside our Early Warning Network. Through locally-led workshops and an innovative Mobile Cinema program, LRA-affected […]

Illegal poaching and ivory trafficking by armed groups like the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) affect more than just elephants. In places like central Africa, wildlife poaching and trafficking also place local communities in immediate danger, and serves as a revenue stream for armed groups that ultimately perpetuates more violence and exploitation.   Communities in and […]

Six years ago today, Nate Henn and 75 others were killed in a terror bombing in Kampala, Uganda while watching the final match of the 2010 World Cup. We remember Nate today because he was a part of our Invisible Children family. As a roadie, Nate traveled the U.S. speaking at colleges, high schools, churches, […]