Blog Updates and inspiration

It was not a typical afternoon at Mend. Out in the yard, the women were somersaulting and dancing around on colorful mats, full of nervous energy. It was their very first yoga lesson. Lolly Berger, of Pachamama’s Daughters Yoga, led them through the poses while Lapat Evelyn, the Mend social worker, translated her directions into […]

We love supporting a good cause, and getting some exercise in the process. Last Sunday staff and beneficiaries of Invisible Children Uganda took to the streets of Gulu for the Northern Uganda Marathon fundraiser for maternal health. Eight staff and 19 of the Mend seamstresses came to run the 10k, our own Laker Pamela taking […]

When Jason, Bobby, and Laren met Jolly Okot-Andruville on their initial trip to Uganda, I think it’s safe to say that none of them knew the impact that she would have on the vision of Invisible Children. Jolly, our Regional Ambassador to East and central Africa, has been instrumental in the identity of the organization, especially in […]

Don’t get us wrong – our two staff writers are perfectly content working out of our San Diego office (they’re both SD natives). When they heard the news that they were traveling to Uganda to visit our Gulu and Kampala offices and tour our programs, though, it’s safe to say they were more than willing […]

“We don’t want [the U.S.] to bring us aid. We want to produce, and they buy,” the Senior Presidential Advisor on AGOA and Trade Susan K. Muhwezi said during a visit to Invisible Children’s social enterprise – Mend – in Gulu last week. Emphasizing the value of trade over aid in developing countries, Muhwezi encouraged […]

For Valentine’s Day, the Mend seamstresses were given messages of appreciation from customers who bought their bags. When you purchase a bag from Mend, you can register it on the website and send a personal message to the woman who made your bag. Mend is a social enterprise geared toward improving the quality of life […]

At around 10AM, the sewing machines come to a stop and the ladies of Mend gather outside to take tea, share stories, and even do some hair styling. Mend improves the quality of life for women in Gulu, Uganda, who were directly affected by the LRA conflict. This social enterprise produces high-quality handbags while providing […]

Just this morning, we welcomed a group of students and staff from Franklin College in Indiana who were traveling through Uganda and decided to swing by the Invisible Children Uganda (ICU) office while in Gulu. Obviously everyone can’t just hop on a plane to Uganda, but we thought you might like a peek inside the […]

Little known fact: more people work in our Invisible Children Uganda offices than in our headquarters in San Diego. There are 107 staff members that man the IC ship in Uganda and two of them recently flew in for a quick visit (and by quick, we mean they flew 14,000+ miles for a 3-day visit.) […]

It’s not just sewing skills the ladies are learning at Mend. Evelyn, the staff social worker has organized regular Functional Adult Literacy classes to introduce practical reading and writing abilities. On this particular day, the women were learning how to fill out bank forms, writing the cash amount as both numbers and words. Being comfortable […]