Massive defection of rebels in DR Congo // Why it matters
First, let’s lay some groundwork. Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is roughly the size of Europe. You read that right, one country that is the size of a continent — pretty amazing. The area in which LRA forces operate is in the far northeast of the country. Within the same region (eastern DR Congo) […]
The best-dressed Guinness commercial ever
When I think of beer commercials, the first thing that comes to mind usually isn’t “colorful and inspirational central African subculture”. Shockingly enough, Guinness somehow managed to pull it off. Enter Sapeurs– culturally distinct men in the Democratic Republic of Congo who take the phrase “dress to impress” to a whole new level. This advertisement […]
Four questions with Sean Poole
This week we’re continuing our four-part model video series and premiering our Protection Programs. Accompanying that is our four question blog series which highlights a specific staffer who works on that specific program. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Sean Poole, Protection Program Extraordinaire. Sean is the Counter-LRA Programs Manager in our International Programs Department. He divides his time […]
Collaborating with the Congo
You probably wouldn’t know it by looking at them, but Pierce Freelon and his colleague Stephen Levitin are both professors at the University of North Carolina. Together they teach Beat Making Lab at the university, where students learn the basic skills needed to create and distribute beats for various genres including hip-hop. In addition to teaching, both men are […]
This smartphone could save lives
Conflict minerals are one of the most commonly overlooked social issues in the world today. For decades countries including the LRA-affected Democratic Republic of Congo have been ravaged for their vast wealth of natural resources in lieu of their most precious resources – people. Tin, tantalum, and tungsten in particular, are excavated from the mines of […]
Complicated backdrop
Photography as an art form transcends cultures, languages and history because of it’s ability to express the various emotions and circumstances of a captured moment. In his collection, “Avenue Patrice Lumumba,” South African photographer Guy Tillim brings to surface the the clash of life’s modernization and the strong roots harbored from the past of Africa’s many […]
LRA Crisis Tracker: mid-year analysis
The LRA Crisis Tracker, a joint project of Invisible Children and Resolve, just released its Mid-Year Security Brief (PDF). Below we highlight a couple of trends and conclusions that we can see in LRA activity. Resolve’s blog has a full summary of the conclusions. LRA abductions are increasing, but trends indicate they’re mostly abducting people […]
Global Post: Kony is always one step ahead
Ashley Benner and Kaspar Agger from the Enough Project wrote this article for the Global Post about “how forces fighting the LRA are unprepared, underfunded and incapable.” It’s called Joseph Kony: Always One Step Ahead Sounds bleak. But there very specific things that our leaders can do to give the current mission to arrest Joseph Kony and […]