UPDATE : 19-year-old escaped from LRA // Walked 11 days alone in the bush to safety
On Saturday a 19-year-old male, Issa Guy Parfait, escaped from the LRA after more than a year in captivity. Guy was abducted in July of 2013 from his home in the Central African Republic on his way back from working in the peanut fields. He was taken along with two other young males and […]
Reblog // Army: Messaging leads to mass defections from Kony
October 2014 Over the summer, defections and releases from the LRA skyrocketed. Almost 100 men, women and children returned home – the most we’ve seen since we expanded our central Africa programs in 2008. The “why” behind those incredible numbers? Successful defection messaging, according to a recent article from Army Times. And we have to agree. […]
A music video about the LRA conflict // Yellowcard + Invisible Children
Our friends who brought us the hit single Ocean Avenue just released a powerful music video that’s all about the LRA. That’s right, we’ve teamed up with Yellowcard. This video accompanies their new track, “One Bedroom.” We think it’s pretty incredible. Watch for yourself: If this inspired you, we need you to take action. This project is more […]
Invisible Children Values // The power of a good idea
X-rays. Chocolate chip cookies. Post-It notes. What do all three of these have in common? They were all created by mistakes. Or rather, the inspiration for these ideas came from unexpected sources. And yet, most people don’t realize these ideas came about by mistake — we only know they were good ideas. A good idea is a […]
How littering* is redefining the LRA
Imagine looking up into the sky on a hot, humid day somewhere in the remote forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Suddenly thousands of neon pieces of paper are falling from the sky. As they cover the ground in and around your camp, you see one you can understand. It’s telling you to come […]
Photo Friday // Ambassadors of Peace
Due to the insecurity caused by the LRA in central Africa, access to food for many communities is a daily struggle. One of the main sources of food comes from local hunters who travel deep into the jungle in search of wild game, however, as one community member recently told us, “when the LRA came […]
On the Job at ICU: Reuniting Families
You may remember meeting Jacob Okello, a mentor from Invisible Children Uganda’s field office in Pader district, through our blog a few months back. At the end of last year, Jacob transitioned into his new role as Invisible Children’s Regional Family Tracing Assistant. Now based out of Gulu, Jacob works directly with formerly abducted persons who recently […]
One million opportunities to escape the Lord’s Resistance Army
On Thursday, September 26th, Invisible Children dropped 90,000 “come home” fliers over a region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With this flier drop we surpassed one million fliers designed, printed, and dropped since the program began. That’s one million opportunities for members of the LRA to escape, and it’s working. In 2012 alone, […]
ϟ FLASH ALERT: How Opondo escaped the LRA after 15 years of captivity
June 21, 1998 LRA rebels raided Lamwolode, Uganda, and brutally kidnapped a ten-year-old boy named Opondo. He was stolen from his family, forced to kill innocent civilians, and brainwashed into believing that escape was impossible. March 2013 15 years later, while listening to an Invisible Children sponsored program on UBC Shortwave radio, Opondo overheard former […]
It’s all in the delivery (pun intended)
Encouraging and facilitating the peaceful surrender of LRA combatants is one of the most effective ways to reduce threats to communities in central Africa and weaken the LRA’s ability to effectively operate. That is why defection fliers are an essential part of our Protection Programs. Invisible Children works with partner organizations and local leaders to send […]