Over two hundred runners and walkers came out to rally for the invisible children's cause on December 3rd, 2005 at UC Davis. Together, we raised $12,000 for the children.
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Latest News for UCD
Next I.C. showing at UC Davis: Wednesday, May 24th, Roessler 66, 8pm
Wednesday, May 31st, Roessler 66, 8pm
Look for us tabling on the quad on Wednesdays and Thursdays where you can buy t-shirts and bracelets.
Sign the Children Should Never Be Child Soldiers declaration to be sent to the Bush administration -click (here).
April 29th, GLOBAL NIGHT COMMUTE! The Night Commute was *amazing* Over 500 people showed up on the Capitol steps in Sacramento and stayed the night in Cesar Chavez Park - and over 60,000 people participated WORLDWIDE. Everyone wrote letters to the President and to our Senators; we also did a personal art project that will show up in a "yearbook" type publication later. It was so awesome, and so let's stay tuned to see what the national press will have to say about it ...
Ugandan bracelets are now available at the invisible children official site: www.invisiblechildren.com.
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Who are the Invisible Children?
Every night, while we remain comfortably in our homes, thousands of children in Northern Uganda walk miles to a larger town, seeking a safe resting spot away from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). These are the invisible children or "night commuters."
In order to avoid abduction, the invisible children crowd into bus parks, verandas and hospitals and sleep packed together because staying in their village homes is simply too dangerous.
The LRA abducts children from their village homes and forces them to join the rebel ranks. Once the children are under rebel control, they are trained to kill under the threat of death and mutilation.
Young girls are taken as sex slaves.
These innocent children are Invisible: because they roam distant battlefields away from public scrutiny, because no records are kept of their numbers or age,
because their own armies deny they exist.
Over the past 19 years, it is estimated that the LRA has abducted 20,000 children.
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What else can you do?
>Come to our meetings on the UC Davis campus this quarter. Look above.
>Download the Spring Quarter Flyer and post it around campus and around town! It has the dates for all of the showings and club meetings on it
>Make hemp bracelets and sell them for $3.00 a piece. Each bracelet has the name of a Ugandan child on it:
>Help raise awareness of the invisible children's plight by telling everyone about it. You can even buy a copy of the documentary DVD and show it to all your family and friends here.
>Contact us as invisiblechildrenrun@gmail.com to schedule a screening for a group of your friends/classmates, etc, or come to one of our scheduled showings (look above)
>Make a personal donation to the Invisible children's cause. |
About the film
In 2004, Bobby, Jason and Laren, three guys from Southern California, went to Uganda in search of a film-worthy adventure. Instead, they found a story that permanently changed their lives.
In Northern Uganda, they encountered the thousands of children fleeing the brutality of the LRA.
They experienced first-hand the fear and pain that enslaves the Acholi people - fear of abduction, death, mutilation, rape and permanent separation from their families.
This 60 minute documentary tells the invisble children's story through interviews with Ugandan politicians, social workers, adults and the children themselves.
In response, they started a non-profit organization called Invisible Children. Please check out their website at www.invisiblechildren.com for more information.
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Read up on the situation
> Still No Solution to War in Uganda - by UC Davis' Rachel Santos, from the International Relations department
or download the article here.
> Visit www.invisiblechildren.com
> BBC: In Pictures: Night Commuters
> BBC: Photo Journal: Child Soldier
> BBC: UN officials meet Ugandan rebels (9/25/2005)
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What we did about it
*** Let's Make Them Visible ***
Thank you to the over 200 people that came out for the walk/run on Dec. 3rd! It was a *beautiful* day, and it was so amazing seeing such support from the Davis community.
For those that don't know...we raised $12,078.34! I am blown away by the dedication and compassion of all of you that participated.
Thanks so much to Katie from the Invisible Children HQ in San Diego. She flew up to speak after the walk/run. She just got back from spending 8 months in Uganda filming more footage for the feature-length film and working with the children. Also, thank you to Kevin Blaine and his band for playing for us - it added so much to the day's celebration.
If you would like to get involved in more Invisible Children awareness activities at UC Davis, please go ahead! There is a facebook club for the Invisible Children, and that's a great way to contact other people that share your concern for the children in Uganda. God Bless, and thank you again everyone!
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Where does the money go?
Invisible Children can be thought of as being broken into three parts: 1) The Movie 2) The Movement and 3) The Mission.
The Movie, Invisible Children: Rough Cut is the main tool of raising awareness of the invisible children's plight and will reach theaters 2006.
The goal of the Movement is to educate and empower people and to ultimately give a voice to the invisible children.
Whatever funds we raise will be used to raise awareness of the invisible children's plight. The Mission is the ultimate goal of Invisible Children. The Mission is the resources, talents and funds that will "hit the ground" in Uganda. These resources will aim to provide safety and education for the children of Northern Uganda who are affected by the 19 year war. Invisible Children is hoping to work with World Vision to construct the "House of Hope" - a center for recreation, education and a place of safety and rest for the invisible children. Go to the official site to learn more.
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