Blog Updates and inspiration

You may already recognize our Regional Operations Manager, Melanie Zawadi. That’s because she’s been a key leader on our team in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pretty much since we started working with Congolese communities in 2010. From the day we met her, Melanie has inspired us with her strength, brilliance, and commitment to LRA-affected […]

“We were in school before. It was our 6th year. Everything was fine.” For the last four years, Camille Marie-Regnault, Invisible Children’s Protection Programs Officer, has worked with our teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and eastern Central African Republic (CAR) to ensure that communities in the region have the safety they need […]

Last month, our friends in Obo, Central African Republic (CAR) celebrated International Day of the African Child with a day full of special events. In support of locally-led efforts to foster peace and prevent violence in the region, our Invisible Children team in Obo worked alongside community leaders and other international organizations to help coordinate […]

Since March, we’ve been reporting information on rising violence collected via our Early Warning Radio Network in central Africa. Just this week, we released our LRA Crisis Tracker Midyear Security Brief, which summarizes trends in armed group violence in eastern Central African Republic (CAR) and neighboring areas of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so […]

Sectarian tensions steadily escalated in eastern Central African Republic (CAR) in the first six months of 2017. In June, violence spread from Haut Kotto and Mbomou prefectures into the communities of Zemio and Mboki in neighboring Haut Mbomou prefecture. Attacks by ex-Seleka, anti-balaka, and armed Peuhl have killed at least 346 civilians in the three prefectures since January […]

On July 11, 2010, 74 people were killed in a series of terrorist bombings in Kampala, Uganda.  One of those killed was an American named Nate Henn. He was our friend. Before his death, Nate had dedicated almost two years of his life as a volunteer roadie with Invisible Children. In the spring of 2010, Nate led a […]

In 2014, when he was seven years old, Sam* and several other members of his community were abducted by a group of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) fighters as they were headed for a field outside their community in a remote corner of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Although many of those abducted with […]

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing to discuss U.S. interests in Africa and the ways in which the U.S. can play a role in stabilizing critical regions, including areas of central Africa where Invisible Children’s work takes place. At the hearing, investigative reporter Bryan Christy of National […]

A Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) group crossed the border from Central African Republic (CAR) into northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May 2017, abducting at least 23 people in a series of attacks on civilians en route to Garamba National Park. In eastern CAR, violence by armed groups against civilians escalated dramatically in May, with ex-Seleka […]

Earlier this week, the United Nations (UN) Security Council met to discuss MINUSCA, the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), as well as the UN office responsible for coordinating regional responses to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) crisis. Much of the Council’s conversations centered around eastern CAR, where communities have experienced an […]