When The Walking Defeats You // A Look Into the LRA
“Killing seemed normal, another act in the struggle to stay alive.” – When the Walking Defeats You At the top of our winter reading list this year is the recently released story of George Omona, a former member of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). When The Walking Defeats You: One Man’s Journey as Joseph […]
LRA Crisis Tracker Monthly Security Brief | October 2016
Overview Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) forces abducted 44 civilians in eight attacks in October, among the lowest monthly totals recorded in 2016. Five of these attacks and nearly all of the abductions were likely committed by the LRA splinter group led by Achaye Doctor, which has been operating independently of Joseph Kony’s command since late 2014. […]
LRA Crisis Tracker Security Brief | 2016 Quarter 3
Overview Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) forces abducted 94 civilians in 38 attacks in Quarter 3 2016 (Q3 2016), covering the months of July–September 2016. Q3 levels of abductions and attacks were significantly lower than those in Q1 and Q2. Within Q3, September was the most violent month of LRA activity, with nearly double the number of abductions […]
Where Have The Elephants Gone? || The Great Elephant Census and END Wildlife Trafficking Act
In August, researchers released the Great Elephant Census, a report that reveals the extremely alarming impact poaching has on Africa’s savanna elephant population. The results of this census are a clear call to action to the entire international community. We must take significant steps through international policies and on-the-ground work to end the poaching and […]
Not enough African art in your life? We can help with that.
If you’re looking to expand your tastes in art, literature, and music…well, you’ve come to the right place. Many of the stories the rest of the world hears about Africa focus on the needs and challenges facing the continent. What we don’t hear enough about are all the rich ideas and achievements communities across Africa have […]
Ongwen Trial Update || ICC Prosecutor to Focus on Gender-Based Crimes
In early 2015, former LRA commander and International Criminal Court (ICC)-indictee Dominic Ongwen surrendered to security forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) and was later transferred to the custody of the ICC to await trial in The Hague, where he remains now that trial proceedings have begun. After being abducted by the LRA as […]
Flash Action Update || Two Family Reunions
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 […]
BBC World Service // LRA releases record numbers
Listen to the interview here: This morning, our CEO Ben Keesey and formerly abducted LRA child soldier Ocitti David Okech talked to BBC World Service about the major increase of LRA escapes over the past few months and how Invisible Children is capitalizing on this to get more LRA abductees out. To support the life-saving work Ben and […]
Escape from war // Impact of “come home” messaging
Sometimes, people assume that force is the most effective way to end a war, but this is not necessarily the case. Recent reports from our counter-LRA partners have suggested that the most cost-effective and nonviolent way to end LRA violence is in fact to invest in helping its members to escape. Of course, this is no easy […]
#Icebucketchallenge // Why awareness campaigns are the future
Over the past few weeks, our Facebook feeds have gotten a little chillier with 30-second videos of our friends, families, and sometime strangers drenching themselves in ice water for a cause. The #ALSicebucketchallenge is taking over and we kind of like it… Here at Invisible Children, we just can’t get enough of social media movements – so we […]