Notes from the Field // US Military Rewards Former LRA Combatants
Much of Invisible Children’s work throughout east and central Africa focuses on the safe return home of those held captive by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). But before escapees are transferred to rehabilitation centers and begin reintegration back into their communities, they participate in a series of interviews with members of the military. Three […]
Uganda: Photo Friday
Remember Opono Opondo? Since escaping from the Lord’s Resistance Army in August, Opondo went through counseling and support at the World Vision Children of War Rehabilitation Center in Gulu, Uganda. He has now been permanently reunited with his family. We continue to celebrate successes throughout his reintegration process, including a recent surgery to repair injuries he […]
Mend // Growing in Confidence and Community Investment
Langee Vicky, a seamstress at Mend, has her own sewing machine at home. But she doesn’t let it sit idle. Instead, Vicky has started making school uniforms. She pays a small monthly fee to rent a stall at the market and was quickly asked by a local woman if she was able to make uniforms. […]
Student Success Becomes a Family Affair
Last week, while tagging along on home visits with some of the mentors from the Legacy Scholarship Program, I found that some of the students weren’t home. “Where are they?” I wondered aloud. The simple answer? Keeping busy. When students return to school at the start of February, they will have had two months to […]
LSP: Always Thinking of the Future
Marylyne, a mentor from the Legacy Scholarship Program, unfolded the white piece of paper that Aol Kevin handed to her. She looked on approvingly. Kevin had performed well – receiving marks of good, very good or excellent in almost all of her subjects in the recent school term. Kevin, a student at Saint Mary’s College […]
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 […]
A new beginning // Okot Kennedy
Every child abducted by Joseph Kony’s rebel army is robbed of his childhood and a normal life — until he escapes. This is the story of a new beginning. It was around 5 pm on a day in 2002 when the LRA rebels arrived at Kennedy’s homestead. He was only nine years old, sitting with his […]
A new beginning // Odong Francis
Every child abducted by Joseph Kony’s rebel army is robbed of his childhood and a normal life — until he escapes. This is the story of a new beginning. The LRA rebels forcibly broke down the door of Odong Francis’s house in the middle of a January 2000 night, when Francis was 10 years old. […]
A new beginning // Okot Aldo Kilama
Every child abducted by Joseph Kony’s rebel army is robbed of his childhood and a normal life — until he escapes. This is the story of a new beginning. When Okot Aldo Kilama was 13 years old, he was abducted by the LRA in the middle of a 1998 night as he was sleeping in […]