On the Radar: 12-year-old girl escapes LRA in DR Congo and is received by the CDC in Kpaika
On June 9th, a 12-year-old Congolese girl, Michelle*, arrived in the village of Kpaika, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) after eight months of captivity with the LRA. Michelle was abducted from her hometown last November while on her way to school. The LRA group that kidnapped her was comprised of six armed men, women and […]
Meet (soon-to-be) Doctor Geoffrey Onekgiu
When he was young, Geoffrey Onekgiu attended a school near to one of northern Uganda’s main hospitals. It gave him the perfect vantage point to watch some of the activities of the hospital’s staff and the people they were helping. “I used to admire how nurses and doctors work. My uncle is also a doctor and […]
Stories of the missing // Ajal Bonny
Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army have contributed to thousands of missing children throughout East and central Africa. This is a story of one still missing. September 8, 2002 is a day that Ajok Christine will never forget. It is the day that her son, Ajal Bonny, was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army. “Before […]
Stories of the Missing // Odong Nelson
Captain Awere may not be a familiar name to many people living in Lagile in northern Uganda. There, he is only known as Odong Nelson. And up until a month ago, many of those who knew Nelson presumed that he was dead. But Nelson, who should be around 38-years-old today, is reportedly still alive according to […]
10 years later // remembering Lukodi’s victims
When the Lord’s Resistance Army attacked the village of Lukodi, Florence, like many others in her community, ran away in attempts to save her life and escape the fighting. “I am one of the survivors of Lukodi,” she announced resolutely to a crowd of onlookers. “I don’t want to say so much, but this is what happened to […]
Photo Friday 2.0 // Stella’s lifesaving letter
We love photo Friday. We love it so much that after years of featuring photos from Uganda, we’re going even bigger. From now on we’ll be rotating our photo Friday amongst all of Invisible Children’s international offices to give you a snapshot (pun intended) of what’s going on at Invisible Children in Uganda and across central Africa. I know, we’re excited too. […]
A letter from Ben Keesey on Boko Haram and the LRA
For the past week I have been out in Uganda working with our Africa leadership team on program strategy, budgets, and operations. It is in these planning meetings where organizational development occurs and where new plans are created. It was in one of these sessions four years ago that our teams agreed to expand our […]
Stories of the Missing // Olike Bosco
Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army have contributed to thousands of missing children throughout East and central Africa. This is a story of one still missing. Martino sits under a tree next to his home gingerly cupping a booklet in his hand. A small face stares back at him from the page. He is holding […]
On the radar: LRA abducts almost entire community in CAR, and 7 in DRC
The regional dry season in central Africa has historically seen spikes in LRA activity during which the rebel group becomes desperate for food and resorts to more frequent and aggressive looting of communities. Over the last week, groups of LRA in CAR and DRC carried out significant raids on civilians. The incidents: April 25th: At […]
Stories of the Missing // Okello James
Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army have contributed to thousands of missing children throughout East and central Africa. This is a story of one still missing. James, known by the nickname Ojee Ojok, would be 24-years-old today. He was abducted from his home in 2002 at the age of 12. “On that fateful day, we […]