By Tony Hoang Media Research Assignment

Joseph Kony created an army called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. The LRA has abducted large numbers of civilians for training as guerrillas; most victims were children and young adults. The LRA abducted young girls as sex and labor slaves. Other children, mainly girls, were reported to have been sold, traded, or given as gifts by the LRA to arms dealers in Sudan. While some later escaped or were rescued, the whereabouts of many children remain unknown.

As of May 5 th, More have been abducted by the LRA in Congo.

Invisible Children was created to help find and rescue the abducted. In the last two years, an estimated 900,000 of the 1.8 million displaced have returned to their homes. But that leaves one million people currently living in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. While the majority desires to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former way of life is all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern for all, and even more so for the many who contemplate returning to resource-barren villages.

1. Take the Lead: Set up an Invisible Children club. Act as the leader, overseer, motivator, lighthouse. Develop your vision of how to help these children and people will follow your guiding light. Lead them well. You are like Peter Parker before he realizes he’s truly Spiderman. You have super powers that can help so many people—now you just have to figure out how to use them. Assemble a team. Join Schools for Schools. Set goals. Use your time and talent to find creative ways to raise awareness. 2. Come and See. The entire Invisible Children movement came from a movie, so if you want to start a revolution you first have to get people to come and see it. THINK BIG. Your classroom is cool; your whole school is AHHHW-SOME. Pack ‘em into your living room, church hall, or local movie house. If Britney can still fill a stadium, so can you! Show the movie as many times and places as you can. Go here to find out how to book the roadies or host a screening. 3. Gab and Ramble. Now is the time to call club leaders, co-workers, coaches, that girl in your math class, that boy from the DQ, priests, pastors, maharajas, mentors, counselors, student council, roommates, life mates, first mates, chess check-mates, even your crazy Uncle Harold who always smells like ketchup and mumbles constantly about the 1986 World Series. Write a letter to Oprah or the president or both. Go to the paper—local or school. Spread the word. Start a conversation. 4. Create It. You have a gift; now is the time to unwrap it. Stir. Move. Draw. Paint. Trace. Photograph. Lithograph. Sculpt. If the film moves you, show us how. Get your art class or your artistic friends or do it alone. Hang, show, or even sell your work. Take action by having an auction. Express yourself.

You can make a difference in a child’s life. Get Up, Get Out, Get Going