In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers from So Cal traveled to Africa in search of a story. By chance, they discovered a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims.
After returning to the USA, they created the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut." The film was originally shown to friends and family, but has now been seen by millions of people.
Here's some background on the filmmakers, their journey, and the film:
Watch the full film, for free here.
The overwhelming response to this film is "How can I help?" To answer this question, the filmmakers created the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc.
From the Invisible Children website: We are individuals part of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it. We use the power of media to inspire young people to help end the longest running war in Africa. But our work extends far beyond storytelling.
This spring, for the very first time, the children featured in the film are coming to the USA to share their stories with us. To host a screening on the Legacy Tour call 619-562-2799.
Meet an Invisible Children roadie. Invisible Children was accepting apps for the Legacy Tour, but unfortunately the app due date has passed.
The Roadie app deadline might have passed, but Invisible Children recently posted that they are accepting apps for intern positions.
To keep up to date on Invisible Children, check out their blog, sign up for the newsletter, or become a fan on Facebook.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query invisible children. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query invisible children. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Watch New Short Film Ani Wa Sa (We Are One) Set in Garamba National Park on Vimeo
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| Ani Wa Sa, www.dceff.org. |
Ani Wa Sa
"Ani Wa Sa" (We Are One) was produced by Invisible Children in collaboration with international filmmakers and community partners. It is set in Garamba National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo on the border with South Sudan. The park has been managed by nonprofit organization African Parks in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation) (ICCN) since 2005.
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| Elephants in Garamba National Park by Nuria Ortega, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. |
Garamba National Park is known for poaching wars. In the 1970's there were 22,000 elephants in the park. Poachers made up of South Sudanese armed groups, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and others have brought that number down to less than 1,200 elephants today.
"Ani Wa Sa" focuses on the relationship between wildlife exploitation and violent conflict. It highlights the ways Invisible Children, central African communities, and conservation actors are working together to promote peace and security.
Novo summarized the plot, writing, "Two brothers who come from a line of central African Zande hunters, seek to protect their local forest from seemingly opposing avenues: one through family tradition and the other as part of a national park ranger team. Though their relationship has fractured, an advancing rebel group seeking to poach and traffic elephant ivory poses a mutual threat and the brothers may need each other to protect the people and wildlife of their homeland for generations to come."
Watch the short film "Ani Wa Sa" for free on the Novo Vimeo channel.
Mobile Cinema Program
Invisible Children has a Mobile Cinema program that uses the power of film to bring people in vulnerable communities together to brainstorm ideas for the role the community can play in ending violent conflict and promoting peace in their own communities. "Ani Wa Sa" has been screened in more than 65 communities in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic, reaching more than 27,400 people.
It also screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival in 2020. (Watch many films that have screened at the film festival in past years.)
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| Mobile Cinema program, Invisible Children newsletter. |
Invisible Children
"In 2015, after 11 years of advocacy and awareness campaigns that brought the LRA crisis to the attention of the world and its leaders, Invisible Children was restructured to focus more intensively on our programs in the border region of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan, where multiple armed groups like the LRA continue to operate with impunity. The area is particularly prone to violence because of its severe isolation and lack of governance.
"Our commitment to our founding mission remains as strong as ever. Joseph Kony remains at large, and after more than 30 years of brutal crimes, his impunity continues to be one of the most tragic examples of our world’s failure to treat every human life as equally valuable and worthy of protection.
"Today, we are taking the lessons we’ve learned from more than a decade of working with central African communities to stop LRA violence, and we are expanding our work for an even greater impact. We work with central African communities directly affected by armed group violence to develop locally-led violence prevention strategies, reunite families affected by conflict, and provide world-class conflict analysis."
"In 2015, after 11 years of advocacy and awareness campaigns that brought the LRA crisis to the attention of the world and its leaders, Invisible Children was restructured to focus more intensively on our programs in the border region of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan, where multiple armed groups like the LRA continue to operate with impunity. The area is particularly prone to violence because of its severe isolation and lack of governance.
"Our commitment to our founding mission remains as strong as ever. Joseph Kony remains at large, and after more than 30 years of brutal crimes, his impunity continues to be one of the most tragic examples of our world’s failure to treat every human life as equally valuable and worthy of protection.
"Today, we are taking the lessons we’ve learned from more than a decade of working with central African communities to stop LRA violence, and we are expanding our work for an even greater impact. We work with central African communities directly affected by armed group violence to develop locally-led violence prevention strategies, reunite families affected by conflict, and provide world-class conflict analysis."
Continue reading about Invisible Children on www.invisiblechildren.com.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
East Africa: Who What Where Why?
This post is an attempt to summarize what I have begun to refer to as my "self-funded, self-directed fellowship" ... otherwise known as my "East Africa Summer" - May 14 through Aug 22, 2011.
It all started with my Lehigh Comparative Politics class. Our TA Brian had spent a semester abroad in Kenya, and used to meet with a small group of interested students once a week, to show us photographs and tell us stories about Kenya. Years later two close friends, Sharon and Eric left at about the same time for Tanzania, to volunteer for extended amounts of time. I got to experience Tanzania vicariously through them. Then in January 2010 I watched the first Invisible Children documentary about the Lord's Resistance Army and Joseph Kony. I was really touched by Jacob's story, one of the Ugandan boys in the film, and started following Invisible Children's work. Over the course of the rest of 2010, things just kept piling on top of each other. I read Jacqueline Novogratz's book The Blue Sweater, and began going to Acumen Fund events. I started meeting people from San Francisco's social entrepreneurship community, while also reading about other young social entrepreneurs. I wanted my own experience, and I wanted to meet the social entrepreneurs in East Africa and hear their stories in person. Fortunately things culminated in my life in such a way that I was able to just jump in with both feet, and I began to plan an East Africa Summer.
The next part wasn't quite as easy. Invisible Children doesn't have a volunteer program in their Gulu, Uganda office. I had missed the Kiva Fellowship Program application deadline. I hadn't been to East Africa before and didn't have any friends there; I needed to plan out where I would be volunteering, and my return date. I remembered that the Daraja Academy of Kenya had invited me to volunteer at their campus in Kenya, after the successful athletic shoe drive that Caitie and I had organized the previous summer. I applied to volunteer at Daraja for a month beginning on May 14, and was accepted. Next, I needed to propose a project to be completed during my month's stay on campus. I am very interested in access to higher education and love mentoring my Level Playing Field Summer Math & Science Honors Academy students, so I proposed serving as a guidance counselor on campus, for the month. Daraja had a better idea - they needed help researching post-graduation opportunities for the students. Daraja is a young school - the oldest students are in Form 3 (high school juniors). So I would get to do some planning work, which sounded exciting! While I was quitting my job and giving up my San Francisco apartment, I figured that I might as well stay in East Africa for the summer. I reached out to one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who I had met several months prior to see if he had any suggestions. Garang said that he could use my help with a particular project in East Africa, and we decided that I would return to the USA on August 22. So I was all set! I gave notice, gave away a lot of my stuff, packed what was left, drove that stuff and my dog to my mom's in NY, and then I was off to the airport.
I lived on Daraja's campus outside of Nanyuki, near Mount Kenya from May 14 through June 14. I spent most of my time conducting online research, interviewing civil servants (Nanyuki is the Laikipia District seat so there is a government compound in town), helping students prepare for the Music Festival competition, attending Sunday student-run religious services, ran a Blue Sweater Book Club using twenty-five copies of the book that had been donated by the Acumen Fund, participating in the sports program, sitting in on the Women of Integrity Strength and Hope (WISH) classes, and in general trying to get to know the students and the Kenyan education system as well as possible.
I had trouble reaching Garang of New Scholars while I was at Daraja, due to poor telecommunications infrastructure in South Sudan. So at this point it was time to re-invent the summer plans! From Daraja I proceeded to Jinja, Uganda to visit an old friend, Meghan who was volunteering with Light Gives Heat for the summer. I spent about a week in Jinja learning about Meghan's work and meeting her fellow volunteers and the organization's staff, went to Sipi Falls, Bujagali Falls, went white water rafting on the Nile, and spent a lot of time meeting staff and guests at the hostel where I was staying, which is where I learned so much about Ugandan culture, the education system, credit, and development. From there I headed onto Kampala, the capital of Uganda where I was invited to stay with a fellow Pace Law Environmental Program alum, Elaine who was on a Fulbright and was living on the Makarere University Campus. Thanks to Elaine and a Kiva Fellow I met, Michele, got to know the expat community and life in Kampala. I also got to meet the founders of one of my favorite social ventures, AFRIpads! While in Kampala I also explored the city, and learned that Jacqueline Novogratz had tweeted about me! I left Kampala for a few days, to track chimps in Kibale National Park. While there I realized that the water filter that I brought with me from the USA was not working and began to drink bottled water, not realizing that my body was already fighting water-borne illnesses. I'd met two Australian travelers on my first day in Uganda, who had invited me to go up to Gulu, Uganda with them to visit the Invisible Children office. I'd also met Tom, a Ugandan who attends university in Michigan and is active with his campus' Invisible Children Club but was home for summer break, at a coffee shop in Jinja. Tom had introduced me to someone who works in the Invisible Children Gulu office. Visiting Gulu, meeting the Invisible Children staff, staying at one of the Invisible Children staff houses, going to Krochet Kids' compound ... I learned so much! I wrapped up my three and a half weeks in Uganda with one final Nile rafting trip, and goodbye-for-now's to my friends at the hostel, and Meghan. Leaving Uganda ... crossing the border back into Kenya ... that was hard. I loved Uganda.
I headed right back to Nairobi, to begin the third and final part of my East Africa Summer. I stayed at a hostel (Upper Hill Campsite) that had been recommended by my Australian friends, as well as a San Francisco Surfrider friend Jules, who had been through Nairobi recently. I met some people who had been traveling all over Africa, and had interesting stories to tell. Thanks to Michele's roommate in Kampala, I quickly found a room in a Western apartment to sublet, in the heart of Nairobi. I spent most of the next six weeks in Nairobi itself, doing work. Even though I had technically already finished my project for Daraja, I decided to continue my research, independently. I felt as if I was just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding, when I left Daraja. There was (and still is) so much to learn. But it wasn't all work - I took side trips to Maasai Mara National Park "on safari", up to Daraja's campus for a quick weekend to meet Daraja co-founder Jenni who had been out of the country while I was living at Daraja, and to Mombasa and Diani Beach on the Kenyan coast. I met some great fellow travelers white water rafting and on safari, who I later caught up with in Nairobi - Maria, Elien and Jan. I also did a few "day trips" within Nairobi's city limits - to the David Sheldrick Baby Elephant and Rhino Orphanage for the public daily milk feeding and then for the tuck-in, and to Nairobi National Park. I got connected to two Georgetown alums in Nairobi, Angela and Laney, and another American living in Nairobi, Karen. I had so much fun hanging out with them, getting advice about health care when my illnesses started keeping me down, and helping Angela out with the Amanai Art Club that she started for Nairobi street boys. I got to meet two of my friend Sharon's Kenyan friends, two Kiva Fellows in Nairobi, Richard and Nila, and my friend Sowmya's friends from her International Peace Masters Program, Wilson and Edith. I also got to meet Acumen Fund Nairobi office team member Suraj, who invited me to the launch of the Acumen East Africa Fellows Program where I got to meet Jacqueline Novogratz, and to TEDxKibera. Lehigh young alum Freedom warmly welcomed me to Kenya, and helped me plan and run a Lehigh Alumni Happy Hour in Nairobi. I mentioned that one of my plans for my summer was to meet inspiring social entrepreneurs, and to get to hear their stories. I got to meet Jessica Posner, who has been an inspiration to me from the time that I first learned of her work with Shining Hope for Communities. I also got to reconnect with Garang from New Scholars, while he was in Nairobi from South Sudan, and learned how I can help him with his work. I remain so passionate about the work that needs to be done - and opportunities - in South Sudan.
In addition to all of these activities, and learning Nairobi I continued on with the research that I began at Daraja. While touring social ventures in Uganda, I noticed that every venture had social workers on staff. I began to consider that bursaries (college scholarships) were not quite enough - the students need mentors, too. While in Uganda I got to meet with a US Embassy employee who helps Ugandan students access US universities, and then got to meet staff in Kenya who are doing a similar thing. I set up appointments and dropped in on nonprofits and corporate operations that empower Kenyan students via both bursaries and mentoring programs, including Akili Dada, KenSAP, and Equity Bank. (I was invited to attend the two-week long second annual Equity Bank Congress on Kenyatta University's campus, which was an amazing experience - got to meet inspiring students, and was able to collaborate with fantastic bank employees.) While conducting my research at Daraja I learned about some of Kenya's top students, and found that many attended two "national" boarding schools for girls, both located in Nairobi - Precious Blood Riruta and Kenya High School. I was invited to visit both campuses, and learned so much from meeting the Precious Blood students and Principal, and staff at Kenya High School. Meeting John, one of the current Acumen East Africa Fellows, turned some of my thoughts upside down. Wow - one of the best things from my summer was people's willingness to go out of their way to teach me, and help me with my work.
I left Nairobi on August 22, to fly back to the States feeling as if my work was just beginning. I'm still trying to draw conclusions from all that I saw, experienced, and learned this past summer. I remind myself of Jacqueline Novogratz's keynote at the East Africa Fellows launch event, when she reminded us that she has been doing this work for twenty-five years. I can't expect to have figured everything out in three and a half months. And yet ... the best thing is just to begin. Thanks to Sanergy, a eco-sanitation solution social venture in Nairobi, I found out about Kevin Starr's PopTech talk.
It's given me a lot to think about. I also learned a lot from a conversation that I had with Saul Garlick at SOCAP11 (Social Capital Markets Conference) last month. What do I care most about? What is the problem that I want to solve? Forget about the rest of it. Just start with this. I'm working on it, and will update here when I'm ready! But the main theme is empowering young East African women to create change in their communities through mentoring, education, travel and extended service learning.
Thanks to everyone who followed along with my adventures by reading my East Africa blog posts, and checking in with me. It meant a lot!
It all started with my Lehigh Comparative Politics class. Our TA Brian had spent a semester abroad in Kenya, and used to meet with a small group of interested students once a week, to show us photographs and tell us stories about Kenya. Years later two close friends, Sharon and Eric left at about the same time for Tanzania, to volunteer for extended amounts of time. I got to experience Tanzania vicariously through them. Then in January 2010 I watched the first Invisible Children documentary about the Lord's Resistance Army and Joseph Kony. I was really touched by Jacob's story, one of the Ugandan boys in the film, and started following Invisible Children's work. Over the course of the rest of 2010, things just kept piling on top of each other. I read Jacqueline Novogratz's book The Blue Sweater, and began going to Acumen Fund events. I started meeting people from San Francisco's social entrepreneurship community, while also reading about other young social entrepreneurs. I wanted my own experience, and I wanted to meet the social entrepreneurs in East Africa and hear their stories in person. Fortunately things culminated in my life in such a way that I was able to just jump in with both feet, and I began to plan an East Africa Summer.The next part wasn't quite as easy. Invisible Children doesn't have a volunteer program in their Gulu, Uganda office. I had missed the Kiva Fellowship Program application deadline. I hadn't been to East Africa before and didn't have any friends there; I needed to plan out where I would be volunteering, and my return date. I remembered that the Daraja Academy of Kenya had invited me to volunteer at their campus in Kenya, after the successful athletic shoe drive that Caitie and I had organized the previous summer. I applied to volunteer at Daraja for a month beginning on May 14, and was accepted. Next, I needed to propose a project to be completed during my month's stay on campus. I am very interested in access to higher education and love mentoring my Level Playing Field Summer Math & Science Honors Academy students, so I proposed serving as a guidance counselor on campus, for the month. Daraja had a better idea - they needed help researching post-graduation opportunities for the students. Daraja is a young school - the oldest students are in Form 3 (high school juniors). So I would get to do some planning work, which sounded exciting! While I was quitting my job and giving up my San Francisco apartment, I figured that I might as well stay in East Africa for the summer. I reached out to one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who I had met several months prior to see if he had any suggestions. Garang said that he could use my help with a particular project in East Africa, and we decided that I would return to the USA on August 22. So I was all set! I gave notice, gave away a lot of my stuff, packed what was left, drove that stuff and my dog to my mom's in NY, and then I was off to the airport.
I lived on Daraja's campus outside of Nanyuki, near Mount Kenya from May 14 through June 14. I spent most of my time conducting online research, interviewing civil servants (Nanyuki is the Laikipia District seat so there is a government compound in town), helping students prepare for the Music Festival competition, attending Sunday student-run religious services, ran a Blue Sweater Book Club using twenty-five copies of the book that had been donated by the Acumen Fund, participating in the sports program, sitting in on the Women of Integrity Strength and Hope (WISH) classes, and in general trying to get to know the students and the Kenyan education system as well as possible.
I had trouble reaching Garang of New Scholars while I was at Daraja, due to poor telecommunications infrastructure in South Sudan. So at this point it was time to re-invent the summer plans! From Daraja I proceeded to Jinja, Uganda to visit an old friend, Meghan who was volunteering with Light Gives Heat for the summer. I spent about a week in Jinja learning about Meghan's work and meeting her fellow volunteers and the organization's staff, went to Sipi Falls, Bujagali Falls, went white water rafting on the Nile, and spent a lot of time meeting staff and guests at the hostel where I was staying, which is where I learned so much about Ugandan culture, the education system, credit, and development. From there I headed onto Kampala, the capital of Uganda where I was invited to stay with a fellow Pace Law Environmental Program alum, Elaine who was on a Fulbright and was living on the Makarere University Campus. Thanks to Elaine and a Kiva Fellow I met, Michele, got to know the expat community and life in Kampala. I also got to meet the founders of one of my favorite social ventures, AFRIpads! While in Kampala I also explored the city, and learned that Jacqueline Novogratz had tweeted about me! I left Kampala for a few days, to track chimps in Kibale National Park. While there I realized that the water filter that I brought with me from the USA was not working and began to drink bottled water, not realizing that my body was already fighting water-borne illnesses. I'd met two Australian travelers on my first day in Uganda, who had invited me to go up to Gulu, Uganda with them to visit the Invisible Children office. I'd also met Tom, a Ugandan who attends university in Michigan and is active with his campus' Invisible Children Club but was home for summer break, at a coffee shop in Jinja. Tom had introduced me to someone who works in the Invisible Children Gulu office. Visiting Gulu, meeting the Invisible Children staff, staying at one of the Invisible Children staff houses, going to Krochet Kids' compound ... I learned so much! I wrapped up my three and a half weeks in Uganda with one final Nile rafting trip, and goodbye-for-now's to my friends at the hostel, and Meghan. Leaving Uganda ... crossing the border back into Kenya ... that was hard. I loved Uganda.
I headed right back to Nairobi, to begin the third and final part of my East Africa Summer. I stayed at a hostel (Upper Hill Campsite) that had been recommended by my Australian friends, as well as a San Francisco Surfrider friend Jules, who had been through Nairobi recently. I met some people who had been traveling all over Africa, and had interesting stories to tell. Thanks to Michele's roommate in Kampala, I quickly found a room in a Western apartment to sublet, in the heart of Nairobi. I spent most of the next six weeks in Nairobi itself, doing work. Even though I had technically already finished my project for Daraja, I decided to continue my research, independently. I felt as if I was just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding, when I left Daraja. There was (and still is) so much to learn. But it wasn't all work - I took side trips to Maasai Mara National Park "on safari", up to Daraja's campus for a quick weekend to meet Daraja co-founder Jenni who had been out of the country while I was living at Daraja, and to Mombasa and Diani Beach on the Kenyan coast. I met some great fellow travelers white water rafting and on safari, who I later caught up with in Nairobi - Maria, Elien and Jan. I also did a few "day trips" within Nairobi's city limits - to the David Sheldrick Baby Elephant and Rhino Orphanage for the public daily milk feeding and then for the tuck-in, and to Nairobi National Park. I got connected to two Georgetown alums in Nairobi, Angela and Laney, and another American living in Nairobi, Karen. I had so much fun hanging out with them, getting advice about health care when my illnesses started keeping me down, and helping Angela out with the Amanai Art Club that she started for Nairobi street boys. I got to meet two of my friend Sharon's Kenyan friends, two Kiva Fellows in Nairobi, Richard and Nila, and my friend Sowmya's friends from her International Peace Masters Program, Wilson and Edith. I also got to meet Acumen Fund Nairobi office team member Suraj, who invited me to the launch of the Acumen East Africa Fellows Program where I got to meet Jacqueline Novogratz, and to TEDxKibera. Lehigh young alum Freedom warmly welcomed me to Kenya, and helped me plan and run a Lehigh Alumni Happy Hour in Nairobi. I mentioned that one of my plans for my summer was to meet inspiring social entrepreneurs, and to get to hear their stories. I got to meet Jessica Posner, who has been an inspiration to me from the time that I first learned of her work with Shining Hope for Communities. I also got to reconnect with Garang from New Scholars, while he was in Nairobi from South Sudan, and learned how I can help him with his work. I remain so passionate about the work that needs to be done - and opportunities - in South Sudan.
In addition to all of these activities, and learning Nairobi I continued on with the research that I began at Daraja. While touring social ventures in Uganda, I noticed that every venture had social workers on staff. I began to consider that bursaries (college scholarships) were not quite enough - the students need mentors, too. While in Uganda I got to meet with a US Embassy employee who helps Ugandan students access US universities, and then got to meet staff in Kenya who are doing a similar thing. I set up appointments and dropped in on nonprofits and corporate operations that empower Kenyan students via both bursaries and mentoring programs, including Akili Dada, KenSAP, and Equity Bank. (I was invited to attend the two-week long second annual Equity Bank Congress on Kenyatta University's campus, which was an amazing experience - got to meet inspiring students, and was able to collaborate with fantastic bank employees.) While conducting my research at Daraja I learned about some of Kenya's top students, and found that many attended two "national" boarding schools for girls, both located in Nairobi - Precious Blood Riruta and Kenya High School. I was invited to visit both campuses, and learned so much from meeting the Precious Blood students and Principal, and staff at Kenya High School. Meeting John, one of the current Acumen East Africa Fellows, turned some of my thoughts upside down. Wow - one of the best things from my summer was people's willingness to go out of their way to teach me, and help me with my work.
I left Nairobi on August 22, to fly back to the States feeling as if my work was just beginning. I'm still trying to draw conclusions from all that I saw, experienced, and learned this past summer. I remind myself of Jacqueline Novogratz's keynote at the East Africa Fellows launch event, when she reminded us that she has been doing this work for twenty-five years. I can't expect to have figured everything out in three and a half months. And yet ... the best thing is just to begin. Thanks to Sanergy, a eco-sanitation solution social venture in Nairobi, I found out about Kevin Starr's PopTech talk.
It's given me a lot to think about. I also learned a lot from a conversation that I had with Saul Garlick at SOCAP11 (Social Capital Markets Conference) last month. What do I care most about? What is the problem that I want to solve? Forget about the rest of it. Just start with this. I'm working on it, and will update here when I'm ready! But the main theme is empowering young East African women to create change in their communities through mentoring, education, travel and extended service learning.
Thanks to everyone who followed along with my adventures by reading my East Africa blog posts, and checking in with me. It meant a lot!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
East Africa Day 36 (Sat June 16): Jinja Market & Invisible Children t-shirt spotting
Walked over to Meghan's house this AM to meet up with her. We walked over to Downtown Jinja, and went to the market. Walking around the perimeter reminded me of contemplating jumping into an outdoor swimming pool. Once you jump in, no matter what the temperature of the pool, it's too late to get out. The corridors of the Jinja market are tight - once we walked in, we were in! Meghan applied her skills bartering with the Boda Drivers to cut deals with the vendors on my behalf. I bought a pair of $1 flip flops made from tires, to primarily wear in the showers this summer. My Chaco flip flops have fabric webbing and are getting smelly because I've been wearing them in and out of the showers. (If you wanted to know.)
We then walked through the downtown shops - a lot of textiles, beaded necklaces and bracelets, and assorted household goods. We stopped at an Indian restaurant for lunch. Delicious! Prior to sitting down at the Indian restaurant, we stopped in at an internet cafe, where we ran into two of Meghan's fellow volunteers. I noticed that the guy sitting at the next table was wearing an Invisible Children. Of course I had to go talk with him.
Turns out that Tom is Ugandan, and is a student at Rochester College in Michigan. He helps out with the campus' Invisible Children club. After learning that my summer here was partly inspired by Invisible Children, Tom called a friend who works with Invisible Children in their Gulu office in Northern Uganda, and introduced me so that I now have a contact at the organization. I cannot WAIT to go visit! It was also great to meet Tom! I also had fun telling him about Brett Dennen's partnership with Invisible Children.
After lunch Meghan and I stopped off at another market for fruit. Spent the rest of the day hanging out in the really nice outdoor lounge spot at the hostel, chatting and using free wireless. I got to catch up on some embarassingly backlogged stuff. Meghan and I are off to some nearby waterfalls tomorrow. She's an excellent tour guide and friend:)
We then walked through the downtown shops - a lot of textiles, beaded necklaces and bracelets, and assorted household goods. We stopped at an Indian restaurant for lunch. Delicious! Prior to sitting down at the Indian restaurant, we stopped in at an internet cafe, where we ran into two of Meghan's fellow volunteers. I noticed that the guy sitting at the next table was wearing an Invisible Children. Of course I had to go talk with him.
Turns out that Tom is Ugandan, and is a student at Rochester College in Michigan. He helps out with the campus' Invisible Children club. After learning that my summer here was partly inspired by Invisible Children, Tom called a friend who works with Invisible Children in their Gulu office in Northern Uganda, and introduced me so that I now have a contact at the organization. I cannot WAIT to go visit! It was also great to meet Tom! I also had fun telling him about Brett Dennen's partnership with Invisible Children.
After lunch Meghan and I stopped off at another market for fruit. Spent the rest of the day hanging out in the really nice outdoor lounge spot at the hostel, chatting and using free wireless. I got to catch up on some embarassingly backlogged stuff. Meghan and I are off to some nearby waterfalls tomorrow. She's an excellent tour guide and friend:)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
East Africa Day 51 (Sun July 3): Intro to the Gulu, Uganda Nonprofit World
Had breakfast of great fruit juice, tea and bananas this AM in the hotel dining area, while watching National Geographic on the TV screen hanging from the ceiling in one corner of the room. We were watching a program about University of Wyoming faculty and students who were studying black bears hibernating. Was a novel experience - firstly, I've seen very little TV since arriving in East Africa, and certainly weird to watch a show about a USA university program and snow in the hotel cafe:)
After breakfast I took a walk around this part of Gulu town, searching for a wireless internet café. I saw families dressed up, headed to church. Some of the little girls were beautifully dressed in fancy dresses - that's when I realized that today is Sunday:) I found a restaurant with wireless that serves Lebanese Food. I met the Lebanese chef, heard about his sister who lives in Chicago, and said I’d be back for lunch. I then used the traditional internet café across the street from our hotel. It was fun sitting in the internet café, which was in a shop the size of a closet – so many different people coming and going over that two hour period.
Met back up with Charlie and Annette, and went to the Lebanese restaurant for lunch. There was a big group sitting at the table next to us, including a few young girls with curly light blonde hair. The girls were the first wazungu kids that I’ve seen since boarding my flight at Heathrow – feels like ages ago! (I wasn’t sure if I had the plural for ”mazungu” correct - just checked with the really nice Ugandan who manages the hotel. In Luganda (Uganda’s main language) it’s “bazungu” and in Kiswahili (Kenya) it’s “wazungu”.)
Nikki, Charlie’s friend who is interning with Invisible Children, met us at the restaurant. We went back to the hotel and hung out in the lounge for a bit. I learned that ninety people work in the Invisible Children Gulu office, and that Invisible Children has a few other offices in Uganda. (Home office is in San Diego.) Nikki is from San Diego, has been here since March, and leaves next month. She takes photos of programs and events, writes blog posts, and helps out with office tours. She and Charlie met one and a half years ago, while volunteering at a faith-based orphanage in Jinja. I’m hoping to get to visit the orphanage when I return to Jinja, before heading back to Kenya.
Charlie and I then went for a walk with Nikki, while Annette relaxed at the hotel. We walked over to the Invisible Children house, which is on the outskirts of town – about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. We walked along a very dusty road, called Juba Road. It runs up to Juba, in south Sudan. Nikki said she thinks that it takes about four hours to get to Juba from here. I love that we are that close!! Nikki lives at the house with two Invisible Children staff members, and three beautiful pet rabbits who live on the fenced in and guarded compound grounds. The women invited Charlie, Annette and I to stay with them for the remainder of our time in Gulu. They have an extra room with spare beds. So nice!!! We are moving our things over there from the hotel in the AM.
Hillary, one of Nikki’s housemates, visited with us for a little bit. Nikki's other roommate is a woman named Bergen - both Americans.
Tomorrow AM we are going to take a tour of the Invisible Children office, guided by Nikki. Then we might visit some other Gulu-based organizations, like Krochet Kids and 21 Bits. I'm so excited! I had a long conversation with one of the Krochet Kids reps at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco last fall, while running the Headcount booth. I loved the org, and even blogged about them - but had forgotten that they work in Uganda, never mind that they're in Gulu. 21 Bits makes designer jewelry out of the paper beads, and sells them in California surf shops. I’m looking forward to checking out the Gulu nonprofit world:)
We went back to the hotel/restaurant/bar/internet café across the street for dinner. I had more beans and rice – at least I know my stomach likes that dish:) Nikki mentioned that it rains here every day at approximately 5:30pm. She was right on, but it was only a brief rain. At least it’s cooler out, tonight – it was too hot here last night- hottest night I’ve experienced yet in East Africa.
After breakfast I took a walk around this part of Gulu town, searching for a wireless internet café. I saw families dressed up, headed to church. Some of the little girls were beautifully dressed in fancy dresses - that's when I realized that today is Sunday:) I found a restaurant with wireless that serves Lebanese Food. I met the Lebanese chef, heard about his sister who lives in Chicago, and said I’d be back for lunch. I then used the traditional internet café across the street from our hotel. It was fun sitting in the internet café, which was in a shop the size of a closet – so many different people coming and going over that two hour period.
Met back up with Charlie and Annette, and went to the Lebanese restaurant for lunch. There was a big group sitting at the table next to us, including a few young girls with curly light blonde hair. The girls were the first wazungu kids that I’ve seen since boarding my flight at Heathrow – feels like ages ago! (I wasn’t sure if I had the plural for ”mazungu” correct - just checked with the really nice Ugandan who manages the hotel. In Luganda (Uganda’s main language) it’s “bazungu” and in Kiswahili (Kenya) it’s “wazungu”.)
Nikki, Charlie’s friend who is interning with Invisible Children, met us at the restaurant. We went back to the hotel and hung out in the lounge for a bit. I learned that ninety people work in the Invisible Children Gulu office, and that Invisible Children has a few other offices in Uganda. (Home office is in San Diego.) Nikki is from San Diego, has been here since March, and leaves next month. She takes photos of programs and events, writes blog posts, and helps out with office tours. She and Charlie met one and a half years ago, while volunteering at a faith-based orphanage in Jinja. I’m hoping to get to visit the orphanage when I return to Jinja, before heading back to Kenya.
Charlie and I then went for a walk with Nikki, while Annette relaxed at the hotel. We walked over to the Invisible Children house, which is on the outskirts of town – about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. We walked along a very dusty road, called Juba Road. It runs up to Juba, in south Sudan. Nikki said she thinks that it takes about four hours to get to Juba from here. I love that we are that close!! Nikki lives at the house with two Invisible Children staff members, and three beautiful pet rabbits who live on the fenced in and guarded compound grounds. The women invited Charlie, Annette and I to stay with them for the remainder of our time in Gulu. They have an extra room with spare beds. So nice!!! We are moving our things over there from the hotel in the AM.
Hillary, one of Nikki’s housemates, visited with us for a little bit. Nikki's other roommate is a woman named Bergen - both Americans.
Tomorrow AM we are going to take a tour of the Invisible Children office, guided by Nikki. Then we might visit some other Gulu-based organizations, like Krochet Kids and 21 Bits. I'm so excited! I had a long conversation with one of the Krochet Kids reps at the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco last fall, while running the Headcount booth. I loved the org, and even blogged about them - but had forgotten that they work in Uganda, never mind that they're in Gulu. 21 Bits makes designer jewelry out of the paper beads, and sells them in California surf shops. I’m looking forward to checking out the Gulu nonprofit world:)
We went back to the hotel/restaurant/bar/internet café across the street for dinner. I had more beans and rice – at least I know my stomach likes that dish:) Nikki mentioned that it rains here every day at approximately 5:30pm. She was right on, but it was only a brief rain. At least it’s cooler out, tonight – it was too hot here last night- hottest night I’ve experienced yet in East Africa.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Dr. No, Please Say Yes! :: Join the Invisible Children Oklahoma Campaign ASAP
This is an open call to US Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) asking him to meet with Invisible Children in Oklahoma City this February to re-consider his hold on the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.
How You Can Help:
* Sign the petition addressed to Senator Coburn here.
* Join the Facebook group here and help spread the word.
* If you can make it to OK on Friday, February 26th, then join this event "OK Says Yes" -
We are gathering at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building, where we will hear from a handful of speakers including Papito Francis, a young man from northern Uganda whose life have been severely affected by LRA violence and who is featured in Invisible Children's documentary GO!
From the State Capitol Building, we will march 2 miles to Senator Coburn's Oklahoma City office downtown and hand-deliver all of our letters.
From that point on, we wait. For the few crazy and brave individuals willing to hold out, we will wait at Senator Coburn's OKC office until he removes his hold on the bill. Yes, that may take days. Yes, it will be cold. And yes, this is crazy. But we believe sincere commitent and sacrifice of comfort is the strongest way to tell our leaders that this crisis is unacceptable. So join us if you are willing.
This event is for Oklahomans and non-Oklahomans alike. If you are willing to make the trek - and if you are willing to hold strong with us - we are honored to have you join us.
This film will be screening at the Invisible Children's Legacy Tour Oklahoma tour stops. If you live outside of OK, then check the tour dates for your state here.
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?
Coburn Say Yes from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
How You Can Help:
* Sign the petition addressed to Senator Coburn here.
* Join the Facebook group here and help spread the word.
* If you can make it to OK on Friday, February 26th, then join this event "OK Says Yes" -
We are gathering at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building, where we will hear from a handful of speakers including Papito Francis, a young man from northern Uganda whose life have been severely affected by LRA violence and who is featured in Invisible Children's documentary GO!
From the State Capitol Building, we will march 2 miles to Senator Coburn's Oklahoma City office downtown and hand-deliver all of our letters.
From that point on, we wait. For the few crazy and brave individuals willing to hold out, we will wait at Senator Coburn's OKC office until he removes his hold on the bill. Yes, that may take days. Yes, it will be cold. And yes, this is crazy. But we believe sincere commitent and sacrifice of comfort is the strongest way to tell our leaders that this crisis is unacceptable. So join us if you are willing.
This event is for Oklahomans and non-Oklahomans alike. If you are willing to make the trek - and if you are willing to hold strong with us - we are honored to have you join us.
This film will be screening at the Invisible Children's Legacy Tour Oklahoma tour stops. If you live outside of OK, then check the tour dates for your state here.
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
A message from Invisible Children :: Wanted: Roadies and Textbooks
Got this in an email yesterday from Invisible Children. In addition to the below, check out my January 26th post that recaps Invisible Children and talks about their previous Roadie opportunities.
With the Senate passing legislation mandating President Obama to lead the efforts to stop Joseph Kony, this fall’s Schools for Schools tour will be packed with the most potential yet for long-term, effective change in northern Uganda.
And we want you to be a part of it. We want you to be a roadie. Three months on the road, sharing the stories of Invisible Children, will help transform the lives of an entire country affected by Africa’s longest running war.
The May 10th application deadline is right around the corner. Visit our website and apply today.
Now, a message for our college friends:
This spring, don’t get stuck waiting in line to sell your books back at the bookstore. There’s a better way. A much better way. Go here and click the button that says “Get $$ For Your Textbooks”. You’ll get a fair price and IC will benefit at the same time. Every book you sell raises funds for our programs, plus you can choose to donate a little something extra at checkout.
Help us by sharing this link with others on your campus and making it your Facebook status before finals.
Thank you,
Invisible Children
P.S. - Booking for the Schools for School Fall 2010 Tour has commenced. If you would like to bring the tour to your town give us a call at 619.562.2799
With the Senate passing legislation mandating President Obama to lead the efforts to stop Joseph Kony, this fall’s Schools for Schools tour will be packed with the most potential yet for long-term, effective change in northern Uganda.
And we want you to be a part of it. We want you to be a roadie. Three months on the road, sharing the stories of Invisible Children, will help transform the lives of an entire country affected by Africa’s longest running war.
The May 10th application deadline is right around the corner. Visit our website and apply today.
Now, a message for our college friends:
This spring, don’t get stuck waiting in line to sell your books back at the bookstore. There’s a better way. A much better way. Go here and click the button that says “Get $$ For Your Textbooks”. You’ll get a fair price and IC will benefit at the same time. Every book you sell raises funds for our programs, plus you can choose to donate a little something extra at checkout.
Help us by sharing this link with others on your campus and making it your Facebook status before finals.
Thank you,
Invisible Children
P.S. - Booking for the Schools for School Fall 2010 Tour has commenced. If you would like to bring the tour to your town give us a call at 619.562.2799
Sunday, July 3, 2011
East Africa Day 50 (Sat July 2): On the Road to the Uganda Invisible Children Office!
I didn’t get much sleep last night – was busy packing up all of my stuff, to take it with me to Gulu, Uganda today, to visit the Invisible Children Uganda office! Who would have thought, when I first became aware of the org, that I’d get to visit the Uganda office in the not-too-distant future!
I had called Richard, who works at the office, who Tom had introduced me to – the Michigan college student that I’d met in Jinja, recently. Richard invited me to the office on Monday for a tour. I also connected with Charlie and Annette, two Australians that I met at NRE when I’d first arrived, who have a friend, Nikki, who is interning at Invisible Children’s Uganda office for six months. They happened to be leaving Kampala for Gulu today, so I joined them for the trip. Perfect timing!
I met them at the Kampala Post Office this AM – this time allowing myself plenty of time to get there, so that I wouldn’t miss the bus! It was a longer ride than the ride to Fort Portal, but it was fun – one of the Post Bus employees on my bus had helped me with one of my previous Post Bus trips, and he remembered me – yep, I’m a fan of the Post Bus! I slept most of the way, but did notice that the scenery heading north towards the Sudan border where Gulu is located is flatter and more open than other parts of Uganda that I’ve seen, from the Post Bus windows:)
We arrived in Gulu in the early afternoon, and found our hotel which had been recommended by Richard. It’s hot up here – hotter than I’d expected. And unfortunately there are mosquitos, which I am now a little apprehensive about. I’m typing this from my bed, tucked underneath my mosquito net, with the windows closed as much as possible, even though it’s quite hot in here. Just say “no” to Malaria.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch, and then bought chapattis off of a street vendor. It was my first time buying street food in East Africa, and it might be my last – not feeling particularly good:)
Nikki was out of town with Invisible Children today, but will be back tomorrow afternoon. There’s an internet café across the street from the hotel – looking forward to uploading these backlogged posts to my blog in the AM! Aside from that, Gulu is a pretty small, quiet town from what we saw, walking around this evening. It’s a big change from Kampala, and even from Jinja! Reminds me more of Nanyuki, in Kenya – near Daraja’s campus.
I had called Richard, who works at the office, who Tom had introduced me to – the Michigan college student that I’d met in Jinja, recently. Richard invited me to the office on Monday for a tour. I also connected with Charlie and Annette, two Australians that I met at NRE when I’d first arrived, who have a friend, Nikki, who is interning at Invisible Children’s Uganda office for six months. They happened to be leaving Kampala for Gulu today, so I joined them for the trip. Perfect timing!
I met them at the Kampala Post Office this AM – this time allowing myself plenty of time to get there, so that I wouldn’t miss the bus! It was a longer ride than the ride to Fort Portal, but it was fun – one of the Post Bus employees on my bus had helped me with one of my previous Post Bus trips, and he remembered me – yep, I’m a fan of the Post Bus! I slept most of the way, but did notice that the scenery heading north towards the Sudan border where Gulu is located is flatter and more open than other parts of Uganda that I’ve seen, from the Post Bus windows:)
We arrived in Gulu in the early afternoon, and found our hotel which had been recommended by Richard. It’s hot up here – hotter than I’d expected. And unfortunately there are mosquitos, which I am now a little apprehensive about. I’m typing this from my bed, tucked underneath my mosquito net, with the windows closed as much as possible, even though it’s quite hot in here. Just say “no” to Malaria.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch, and then bought chapattis off of a street vendor. It was my first time buying street food in East Africa, and it might be my last – not feeling particularly good:)
Nikki was out of town with Invisible Children today, but will be back tomorrow afternoon. There’s an internet café across the street from the hotel – looking forward to uploading these backlogged posts to my blog in the AM! Aside from that, Gulu is a pretty small, quiet town from what we saw, walking around this evening. It’s a big change from Kampala, and even from Jinja! Reminds me more of Nanyuki, in Kenya – near Daraja’s campus.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Invisible Children & Resolve urge you to VOTE tomorrow
Remember all of my posts about the Invisible Children and and the campaign to get Senator Coburn to release his hold on the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act?
Here's a summary of what the Invisible Children, Resolve, and their allies did to get the bill passed, and why they think you should vote tomorrow.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Here's a summary of what the Invisible Children, Resolve, and their allies did to get the bill passed, and why they think you should vote tomorrow.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
April 25: The Night of your Life
I love Invisible Children. Where will you be on April 25? Ready to win a trip to Uganda?
Create your profile page here. Stay Classy designs and manages the Invisible Children fundraising pages. They're awesome and are also based in San Diego!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Fall Out Boy & Invisible Children
When I come across things like this, it reminds me of how disappointed I am that Fall Out Boy broke up. Ah well.
From the Invisible Children website:
Ever since Pete Wentz heard about Invisible Children, Fall Out Boy has gone above and beyond to use their unique platform to spread the word about northern Uganda. Throughout 2007, FOB promoted our nationwide event Displace Me through a video shown to every audience on their tour. They continued to get involved by traveling with us to Uganda in July 2007 and filming their music video “I’m Like a Lawyer,” which IC co-produced.
From the Invisible Children website:
Ever since Pete Wentz heard about Invisible Children, Fall Out Boy has gone above and beyond to use their unique platform to spread the word about northern Uganda. Throughout 2007, FOB promoted our nationwide event Displace Me through a video shown to every audience on their tour. They continued to get involved by traveling with us to Uganda in July 2007 and filming their music video “I’m Like a Lawyer,” which IC co-produced.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
... and we're only 3 months into 2010 ...
Received this update today from Invisible Children:
Citizen Arrest Warrant Hand-Off from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
Monday, March 1, 2010
"Dr. No, Please Say Yes" Update :: Live Video from Outside Sen Coburn's Office
This post is a follow-up to last Wednesday's post "Dr. No, Please Say Yes":
From Oklahoma City, OK News 9:
photo: Emma, a S4S representative that won a trip to Uganda this summer.
Check out the live stream from outside of Senator Coburn's Oklahoma City, OK office:
photo: sleeping on the job, outside of Senator Coburn's office
The photos were taken from the Invisible Children's Facebook page - check it out for the latest updates.
If you are in Washington, DC then join the Invisible Children for this International Women's Day "Meet Me On The Bridge" Event on March 8th.
From Oklahoma City, OK News 9:
photo: Emma, a S4S representative that won a trip to Uganda this summer.
Check out the live stream from outside of Senator Coburn's Oklahoma City, OK office:
Watch live streaming video from invisiblechildren at livestream.com
photo: sleeping on the job, outside of Senator Coburn's office
The photos were taken from the Invisible Children's Facebook page - check it out for the latest updates.
If you are in Washington, DC then join the Invisible Children for this International Women's Day "Meet Me On The Bridge" Event on March 8th.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I am so proud ... moved ... I don't know. Resolve Uganda.
I emailed President Obama sometime within the past week, upon the request of either Resolve Uganda or the Invisible Children (don't remember which) asking President Obama to make a public statement on his support for the bill.
He did it! Check out the statement from Invisible Children here.
Then the video summary of the day here:
Read Obama's statement on the occasion of the bill signing here.
He did it! Check out the statement from Invisible Children here.
Then the video summary of the day here:
Read Obama's statement on the occasion of the bill signing here.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
East Africa Day 52 (Mon July 4): Invisible Children Office Tour & Gulu, Uganda 4th of July Party!
Such an exciting day! We checked out of the hotel, dropped our bags off at Nikki’s house, and then headed over to the Invisible Children office on the other side of town. We found the IC compound at the end of a road, marked by a white sign.
photo: this was taken later. Nikki wasn't with us at the time that we first walked in ...
Entered the compound, walked by a covered area with bodas parked under it, and entered the building in front of us. We were met by two glass wall cases full of IC merch. I know where we are!
Nikki’s office that she shares with the Media Team was right in front of us, next to Reception.
photo: Nikki's office is at the end of the hall, here. Looking through the Reception room.
She took us into the Conference Room next to her office, for the intro. First thing I noticed was two round clocks on the wall – one showing San Diego time, the other showing Uganda time. Loved it!
photo: Charlie, Nikki
We sat down and talked about the IC East Africa programs – all of which are run by Ugandans.
Village Savings and Loan Groups: IC works with community leaders in communities around Gulu. The community leaders get a lock box, to be used to set up and run Village Savings and Loan Groups. The community leaders have been trained in business and literacy skills, which they then teach to their fellow community members. This program is called Functional Adult Literacy.
LSP – Scholarship Program: Secondary (high) school and university students from all over Uganda can apply for IC scholarships. The funding helps vulnerable children who demonstrate academic excellence continue their education. The students can apply for university in the USA. Later in the day I met one of the USA University IC Scholars, who told me that the students attend USA Universities that partner with IC. I was SO excited to meet her! Each IC Scholar is assigned to a mentor. The mentors visit the students at home and in school, using the bodas with IC logos that I saw in the central courtyard when I first entered the IC compound. I later got to meet the IC mechanics who takes care of the IC vehicles!
Schools For Schools: USA high school students fundraise and support Uganda secondary (high) schools. IC has two programs within Schools For Schools – Hardware and Software. Hardware are structural improvements. (I later met two of the IC Engineers who ensure that the construction projects are sound.) Software are teacher trainings, textbooks, etc. One example of Software is KOBS – Knowledge of Behavior and Self. Meetings are held where students are provided with guidance to help them determine what makes them happy and sad, how to handle conflict, etc so that the students can do better in school.
Teacher Exchange: USA teachers are in Gulu right now – for a total of six weeks - exchanging knowledge with their peers – Ugandan teachers. Later the Ugandan teachers will travel to the USA to continue the work.
MEND – IC employs Ugandan women who have been affected by the conflict to make a variety of bags which are then sold on the IC website and on the IC USA tours. The women have been working together for years and have developed close relationships. IC employs a counselor to provide the women with extra support. Later in the day today we learned that we will get to visit the MEND Center tomorrow! It’s usually closed to the public, but Nikki was able to get us in!
Congo – We also learned about IC’s work in Congo (DRC). The last IC tour, spring 2011 semester, was dedicated to raising funds for an IC Congo program – FM radio towers. IC constructed the towers so that communities can alert their neighbors when the LRA is on the move. Speaking of the tours, I learned that any IC Uganda employee can apply to represent the org on one of the USA tours. The Scholarship Students are also eligible to apply to represent the org on tour.
After learning about the programs, Nikki walked us through the three IC buildings on the IC campus –one for Administration, one for the Mentors, and one for Schools for Schools.
Our guide, Nikki ... love this photo!
photo: backside of the Admin building
photo: Mentors office - view from the courtyard that connects the 3 buildings.
photo: the courtyard, walking towards the backside of the Admin building.
In the Mentors building I got to meet Richard, who had been my contact at the IC Gulu office, via Tom who I’d met in Jinja. I also got to meet the two program administrators, Leo and Betty. Leo was a teacher in Uganda, then became an IC Mentor, was then hired to work for IC in Betty’s current position, and was then promoted to his current role. I love it!
photo: Betty, me, Leo in their office
Leo and Betty – and everyone else we met at the offices – were so nice and welcoming! I was amazed at how warmly we were received, given how busy everyone is. I was also amazed to learn that IC’s Gulu office has ninety employees, only three of which are from the USA. Mallory, who is from MD and works in the PR office, Nikki’s housemate Bergen who runs MEND, and a guy who wasn’t in town while I was there. In addition to that, the only other two Americans in the Gulu office are Nikki, who is an Intern, and Hillary, who is a Princeton in Africa Fellow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was really great to see that many of the Uganda programs are staffed and run by Ugandans.
In addition to visiting the Mentors building, we got to visit the Schools for Schools building (where I met two engineers) and some other staff members.
photo: Schools for Schools staff member at her desk!
We also walked through the Administration Building where I got to meet a woman who runs the Schools For Schools program – the one I was most familiar with before our tour, because that program was the beneficiary for the first IC Tour that I attended, on the University of San Francisco campus Fall 2010 semester.
We finished up our tour by snapping some photos in the reception lobby and outside of the building.
photo: right outside of the compound, as if you are approaching from the road.
photo: right inside of the compound doors, looking towards reception in the Admin building.
photo: our tour group:)Charlie, me, Nikki, Annette in the compound entrance area.
I couldn’t help but snap some photos as we walked down the road away from the IC compound, too – who knows when I’ll be this way again. But I feel SO LUCKY that I got to visit – who would’ve thought that I’d get to see it!!!
photo: walking away from the IC office, which is at the very end of a dead end road.
After the IC tour we took bodas out of town to the Gulu Recreation Center, the home of “the fake zoo”, a playground for adults, and a lake that is big enough to sail on in a canoe. Nikki had been here once before.
photo: I snapped this while sitting on the back of a boda. That's Charlie on the boda ahead of me, in the red shirt. On the way to the Gulu Recreation Center.
We spent a few hours hanging out. I got to swing on a swing set. It brought me back to my high school days, when I had an afterschool job working as an Assistant Teacher at the YMCA Afterschool Progam at the elementary school I had attended. After homework and snack, we used to take the elementary school students to the school gym or outside to the playground. I used to hang out with the little girls – one of whom later attended Frost Valley!
photo: Annette, Charlie, Nikki
In the evening we went over to a bar in Gulu for a 4th of July Party. The bar is owned by an American who hosted the party. He threw out USA trivia questions and showed Independence Day with Will Smith. We left before it was over and headed back to the house. The electricity went out so we pulled out the candles. I had such a nice time lounging on one of the landlord’s overstuffed couches in the living room, hanging out with Charlie, Annette, Nikki and Hillary. Annette brought her guitar to East Africa with her, and played us three original songs that she’d written. The first was about a girl with cerebral palsy that she’d met in South Africa. It’s not included in the song, but Annette told us that she’d fundraised to purchase a year’s worth of diapers for the eight year old girl, who was previously laying on concrete in her own waste all day. Annette doesn’t have any videos of her playing music online, or I’d link to it here:) Overall, a fantastic day!!
photo: this was taken later. Nikki wasn't with us at the time that we first walked in ...
Entered the compound, walked by a covered area with bodas parked under it, and entered the building in front of us. We were met by two glass wall cases full of IC merch. I know where we are!
Nikki’s office that she shares with the Media Team was right in front of us, next to Reception.
photo: Nikki's office is at the end of the hall, here. Looking through the Reception room.
She took us into the Conference Room next to her office, for the intro. First thing I noticed was two round clocks on the wall – one showing San Diego time, the other showing Uganda time. Loved it!
photo: Charlie, Nikki
We sat down and talked about the IC East Africa programs – all of which are run by Ugandans.
Village Savings and Loan Groups: IC works with community leaders in communities around Gulu. The community leaders get a lock box, to be used to set up and run Village Savings and Loan Groups. The community leaders have been trained in business and literacy skills, which they then teach to their fellow community members. This program is called Functional Adult Literacy.
LSP – Scholarship Program: Secondary (high) school and university students from all over Uganda can apply for IC scholarships. The funding helps vulnerable children who demonstrate academic excellence continue their education. The students can apply for university in the USA. Later in the day I met one of the USA University IC Scholars, who told me that the students attend USA Universities that partner with IC. I was SO excited to meet her! Each IC Scholar is assigned to a mentor. The mentors visit the students at home and in school, using the bodas with IC logos that I saw in the central courtyard when I first entered the IC compound. I later got to meet the IC mechanics who takes care of the IC vehicles!
Schools For Schools: USA high school students fundraise and support Uganda secondary (high) schools. IC has two programs within Schools For Schools – Hardware and Software. Hardware are structural improvements. (I later met two of the IC Engineers who ensure that the construction projects are sound.) Software are teacher trainings, textbooks, etc. One example of Software is KOBS – Knowledge of Behavior and Self. Meetings are held where students are provided with guidance to help them determine what makes them happy and sad, how to handle conflict, etc so that the students can do better in school.
Teacher Exchange: USA teachers are in Gulu right now – for a total of six weeks - exchanging knowledge with their peers – Ugandan teachers. Later the Ugandan teachers will travel to the USA to continue the work.
MEND – IC employs Ugandan women who have been affected by the conflict to make a variety of bags which are then sold on the IC website and on the IC USA tours. The women have been working together for years and have developed close relationships. IC employs a counselor to provide the women with extra support. Later in the day today we learned that we will get to visit the MEND Center tomorrow! It’s usually closed to the public, but Nikki was able to get us in!
Congo – We also learned about IC’s work in Congo (DRC). The last IC tour, spring 2011 semester, was dedicated to raising funds for an IC Congo program – FM radio towers. IC constructed the towers so that communities can alert their neighbors when the LRA is on the move. Speaking of the tours, I learned that any IC Uganda employee can apply to represent the org on one of the USA tours. The Scholarship Students are also eligible to apply to represent the org on tour.
After learning about the programs, Nikki walked us through the three IC buildings on the IC campus –one for Administration, one for the Mentors, and one for Schools for Schools.
Our guide, Nikki ... love this photo!
photo: backside of the Admin building
photo: Mentors office - view from the courtyard that connects the 3 buildings.
photo: the courtyard, walking towards the backside of the Admin building.
In the Mentors building I got to meet Richard, who had been my contact at the IC Gulu office, via Tom who I’d met in Jinja. I also got to meet the two program administrators, Leo and Betty. Leo was a teacher in Uganda, then became an IC Mentor, was then hired to work for IC in Betty’s current position, and was then promoted to his current role. I love it!
photo: Betty, me, Leo in their office
Leo and Betty – and everyone else we met at the offices – were so nice and welcoming! I was amazed at how warmly we were received, given how busy everyone is. I was also amazed to learn that IC’s Gulu office has ninety employees, only three of which are from the USA. Mallory, who is from MD and works in the PR office, Nikki’s housemate Bergen who runs MEND, and a guy who wasn’t in town while I was there. In addition to that, the only other two Americans in the Gulu office are Nikki, who is an Intern, and Hillary, who is a Princeton in Africa Fellow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was really great to see that many of the Uganda programs are staffed and run by Ugandans.
In addition to visiting the Mentors building, we got to visit the Schools for Schools building (where I met two engineers) and some other staff members.
photo: Schools for Schools staff member at her desk!
We also walked through the Administration Building where I got to meet a woman who runs the Schools For Schools program – the one I was most familiar with before our tour, because that program was the beneficiary for the first IC Tour that I attended, on the University of San Francisco campus Fall 2010 semester.
We finished up our tour by snapping some photos in the reception lobby and outside of the building.
photo: right outside of the compound, as if you are approaching from the road.
photo: right inside of the compound doors, looking towards reception in the Admin building.
photo: our tour group:)Charlie, me, Nikki, Annette in the compound entrance area.
I couldn’t help but snap some photos as we walked down the road away from the IC compound, too – who knows when I’ll be this way again. But I feel SO LUCKY that I got to visit – who would’ve thought that I’d get to see it!!!
photo: walking away from the IC office, which is at the very end of a dead end road.
After the IC tour we took bodas out of town to the Gulu Recreation Center, the home of “the fake zoo”, a playground for adults, and a lake that is big enough to sail on in a canoe. Nikki had been here once before.
photo: I snapped this while sitting on the back of a boda. That's Charlie on the boda ahead of me, in the red shirt. On the way to the Gulu Recreation Center.
We spent a few hours hanging out. I got to swing on a swing set. It brought me back to my high school days, when I had an afterschool job working as an Assistant Teacher at the YMCA Afterschool Progam at the elementary school I had attended. After homework and snack, we used to take the elementary school students to the school gym or outside to the playground. I used to hang out with the little girls – one of whom later attended Frost Valley!
photo: Annette, Charlie, Nikki
In the evening we went over to a bar in Gulu for a 4th of July Party. The bar is owned by an American who hosted the party. He threw out USA trivia questions and showed Independence Day with Will Smith. We left before it was over and headed back to the house. The electricity went out so we pulled out the candles. I had such a nice time lounging on one of the landlord’s overstuffed couches in the living room, hanging out with Charlie, Annette, Nikki and Hillary. Annette brought her guitar to East Africa with her, and played us three original songs that she’d written. The first was about a girl with cerebral palsy that she’d met in South Africa. It’s not included in the song, but Annette told us that she’d fundraised to purchase a year’s worth of diapers for the eight year old girl, who was previously laying on concrete in her own waste all day. Annette doesn’t have any videos of her playing music online, or I’d link to it here:) Overall, a fantastic day!!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
East Africa Day 53 (Tues July 5): MEND Tour & Krochet Kids
I’ve gotten probably too comfortable riding bodas. This AM I ate a peanut butter sandwich while sitting on the back of a boda, heading to Barclay’s in Gulu town:) It entertained Charlie, who was riding on a boda behind me. While traveling down Juba road towards Gulu town, we passed bright yellow UN World Food Program tents on the right-hand side of the road, inside a fenced in compound. Nikki later said that there used to be something like six when she first arrived, but only one or two are left. I hope that’s a good sign? When we got to Barclays, I found a sick and poorly looking small retriever-type dog in the yard. It finished off what was left of my peanut butter sandwich.
We then headed out of town to the Invisible Children MEND compound, where the women that IC pays to make the MEND bags work. Nikki said that the women used to work in a smaller building. This building has a lot of windows, and a concrete floor.
photo: the MEND building, taken from the front yard after entering through the compound gate.
When you first enter the building you find yourself in a large room containing rows of sewing machines. The MEND women were sitting at the black metal singer-style sewing machines that I’ve seen all over East Africa, smiling and working on their projects. The room was full of good energy.
Head to the back of the room and you’ll find a smaller room where women were doing another step in the process, on table tops. Then hang a right and you are in another small room where a Ugandan man was cutting the pieces for the bags from larger pieces of fabric. I watched him bang nail holes into certain parts of the drawn-on outline, and then use a machine to actually cut the fabric.
After passing through that room you'll find the room that holds all of the canvas and cotton fabrics that the women use to make the bags, the supervisor Richard's office, the social worker's office, a bathroom with a USA style toilet bowl and sink, and then at the end of the hallway is a sort of storage room, where finished bags and materials that are included inside the bags are stacked, and laid out on tables.
photo: Richard, me, and MEND's social worker - ah, I forgot her name!
Charlie, Annette and I each picked out a MEND bag to purchase.
photo: We all got the same style bag - not this one, but this was the other style available for purchase.
Each MEND bag contains a tag, sewn into the bag, with the name of the woman who made the bag printed on it. Each bag also comes with a postcard inside, that tells the story of the woman who made the bag, with a photo of her included. We got REALLY, really lucky and got to meet and take photos with the women who made our bags! My bag was made by Betty.
photo: Charlie and the woman who made her bag
photo: Annette and the woman who sewed the bag that she bought.
photo: Betty and I with the bag that she made, now mine!
After taking the MEND tour we went to the Krochet Kids compound, which isn't far from Nikki's house.
photo: upon entering the KK compound.
I first learned about Krochet Kids at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival last fall. The organization had a booth set up. I was attracted to a t-shirt that had their label printed on it, which was hanging up in front of the booth. It says "LIVE" with the "I" being a map of Africa. I had forgotten that the organization works in Gulu, Uganda - with the corporate HQ being in Costa Mesa, CA. (San Diego area.) I was so excited to get to tour the KK compound!
When we walked through the gate - same style door as all of the compounds I've seen in Uganda - we found several buildings, rented by KK. But most striking were all of the women and their young children, sitting underneath a mango tree in the yard, and under a tin roof on a concrete floor, adjacent to one of the buildings, that KK recently constructed for the women.
Sean, who arrived in Gulu 1.5 months ago from CA I think, gave us a great tour.
We met Cody, who is interning with KK for 6 months. I think he arrived about a week ago. He's a college student at a school in So Cal - ahh, I forget which school. He was really, really nice and filled in some details for me.
photo: Cody, Sean and the ladies.
I think KK's women are broken up into groups. Each group is assigned a hat style (and maybe a color) for each week. The women then make their hats, and put them in their cubby with their respective name on it, in one of the buildings. We looked through the hats and tried some of them on.
Then the hats are checked for quality control four times - one step involves Cody trying on every single hat! The hats that will be sold then receive their labels. Each hat gets a KK label on the outside. The women sew a label with their name on it, inside of the hat. They sew the labels on themselves, using one of the two sewing machines in the same room as the cubbies.
The hats that have been sold to companies (like Nordstrom) are shipped from Kampala to the purchaser. The other hats are sent to the Costa Mesa office for final quality check.
We got to go through boxes of hats that didn't make it through quality control. While we were having fun with the hats, Cody told us about how he found out about KK. His friend's boyfriend has something to do with KK. He and Sean were so nice!
After the KK Tour, we met up with Hillary at the Lebanese restaurant in town, for lunch. We got to meet Lizzie, who is joining Hillary in the IC office for a month. Lizzie is from England, where she has been working on child soldier and LRA issues for a while - organizing like-minded groups together into a coalition, and trying to reach England's elected officials. She told me that IC had an office in London from early 2009 through the end of 2009, when it closed. She was volunteering with IC in London. When she decided to do some fieldwork, she was eventually connected to an organization in Uganda HEALS run by Jolly from IC, where Lizzie is working in the community. She's helping Hillary with metrics for a month where she's looking forward to learning about IC's programming in Gulu. She was really nice!
Following lunch we went to the Bus Park in town. Parts of the first IC film were shot at the Bus Park. The children used to sleep in the Bus Park, with armed guards posted at the entrances and exists, to protect the children from being abducted by the LRA. Nikki told us that the youth had to be where ever they were going by 3pm. It wasn't safe to be out after 3pm. THREE PM! Where were you at 3pm and thereafter today?
We then headed out of town to the Invisible Children MEND compound, where the women that IC pays to make the MEND bags work. Nikki said that the women used to work in a smaller building. This building has a lot of windows, and a concrete floor.
photo: the MEND building, taken from the front yard after entering through the compound gate.
When you first enter the building you find yourself in a large room containing rows of sewing machines. The MEND women were sitting at the black metal singer-style sewing machines that I’ve seen all over East Africa, smiling and working on their projects. The room was full of good energy.
Head to the back of the room and you’ll find a smaller room where women were doing another step in the process, on table tops. Then hang a right and you are in another small room where a Ugandan man was cutting the pieces for the bags from larger pieces of fabric. I watched him bang nail holes into certain parts of the drawn-on outline, and then use a machine to actually cut the fabric.
After passing through that room you'll find the room that holds all of the canvas and cotton fabrics that the women use to make the bags, the supervisor Richard's office, the social worker's office, a bathroom with a USA style toilet bowl and sink, and then at the end of the hallway is a sort of storage room, where finished bags and materials that are included inside the bags are stacked, and laid out on tables.
photo: Richard, me, and MEND's social worker - ah, I forgot her name!
Charlie, Annette and I each picked out a MEND bag to purchase.
photo: We all got the same style bag - not this one, but this was the other style available for purchase.
Each MEND bag contains a tag, sewn into the bag, with the name of the woman who made the bag printed on it. Each bag also comes with a postcard inside, that tells the story of the woman who made the bag, with a photo of her included. We got REALLY, really lucky and got to meet and take photos with the women who made our bags! My bag was made by Betty.
photo: Charlie and the woman who made her bag
photo: Annette and the woman who sewed the bag that she bought.
photo: Betty and I with the bag that she made, now mine!
After taking the MEND tour we went to the Krochet Kids compound, which isn't far from Nikki's house.
photo: upon entering the KK compound.
I first learned about Krochet Kids at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival last fall. The organization had a booth set up. I was attracted to a t-shirt that had their label printed on it, which was hanging up in front of the booth. It says "LIVE" with the "I" being a map of Africa. I had forgotten that the organization works in Gulu, Uganda - with the corporate HQ being in Costa Mesa, CA. (San Diego area.) I was so excited to get to tour the KK compound!
When we walked through the gate - same style door as all of the compounds I've seen in Uganda - we found several buildings, rented by KK. But most striking were all of the women and their young children, sitting underneath a mango tree in the yard, and under a tin roof on a concrete floor, adjacent to one of the buildings, that KK recently constructed for the women.
Sean, who arrived in Gulu 1.5 months ago from CA I think, gave us a great tour.
We met Cody, who is interning with KK for 6 months. I think he arrived about a week ago. He's a college student at a school in So Cal - ahh, I forget which school. He was really, really nice and filled in some details for me.
photo: Cody, Sean and the ladies.
I think KK's women are broken up into groups. Each group is assigned a hat style (and maybe a color) for each week. The women then make their hats, and put them in their cubby with their respective name on it, in one of the buildings. We looked through the hats and tried some of them on.
Then the hats are checked for quality control four times - one step involves Cody trying on every single hat! The hats that will be sold then receive their labels. Each hat gets a KK label on the outside. The women sew a label with their name on it, inside of the hat. They sew the labels on themselves, using one of the two sewing machines in the same room as the cubbies.
The hats that have been sold to companies (like Nordstrom) are shipped from Kampala to the purchaser. The other hats are sent to the Costa Mesa office for final quality check.
We got to go through boxes of hats that didn't make it through quality control. While we were having fun with the hats, Cody told us about how he found out about KK. His friend's boyfriend has something to do with KK. He and Sean were so nice!
After the KK Tour, we met up with Hillary at the Lebanese restaurant in town, for lunch. We got to meet Lizzie, who is joining Hillary in the IC office for a month. Lizzie is from England, where she has been working on child soldier and LRA issues for a while - organizing like-minded groups together into a coalition, and trying to reach England's elected officials. She told me that IC had an office in London from early 2009 through the end of 2009, when it closed. She was volunteering with IC in London. When she decided to do some fieldwork, she was eventually connected to an organization in Uganda HEALS run by Jolly from IC, where Lizzie is working in the community. She's helping Hillary with metrics for a month where she's looking forward to learning about IC's programming in Gulu. She was really nice!
Following lunch we went to the Bus Park in town. Parts of the first IC film were shot at the Bus Park. The children used to sleep in the Bus Park, with armed guards posted at the entrances and exists, to protect the children from being abducted by the LRA. Nikki told us that the youth had to be where ever they were going by 3pm. It wasn't safe to be out after 3pm. THREE PM! Where were you at 3pm and thereafter today?
Friday, June 17, 2011
East Africa Day 35 (Fri June 17): Solar Cookers
I took a boda over to Meghan's house this AM. She's living on a really cute block with street lights (I think I saw them - if not, then on another block in Jinja). She lives in a really cute, modern house with two other Light Gives Heat volunteers and two employees. Reminded me of an off-campus house, with bed nets of course:) I got to meet some of her housemates before we took our supplies and headed out to meet up with some of the women who make the Suubi paper necklace beads that Light Gives Heat purchases from the women and sells online and via supporters in the USA.
Light Gives Heat received a grant to teach the Suubi women how to cook their food using solar cookers. We took them to Janet's house this AM and set up the solar cookers, and put food out to cook.
photo: Lauren, a Light Gives Heat volunteer from Leeds, England, and Meghan with their solar cookers.
We then went to visit another Suubi woman who was cutting paper to make the paper beads, using a paper cutter, outside of her home. I learned that she came to Jinja from Gulu up north, where the Invisible Children have been working to stop the LRA.
We returned to Meghan's house for lunch, where I got to spend more time catching up with her fellow volunteers. We then headed back out to Janet's house to check on the food. A group of neighbors - including a cadre of kids - gathered around and helped check on the food, and then pack up the solar cookers.
I learned a lot about solar cookers - super interesting!!! And also lovely to get to meet some of the community members. I met a primary school student who dreams of being an accountant. She said her teacher told her about the career path, and that she selected it because she loves math. It was so nice to get to talk with her! Hopefully I'll see her again. This is a beautiful community - and so different from Nanyuki - really cool to get to experience such diversity in one week:)
I've also met some great people at the hostel where I'm staying right now. Pretty much everyone here is staying at the hostel while volunteering for a Jinja-based NGO.
Back to meet up with Meghan tomorrow, for more exploring in Jinja! In the meantime, loving listening to the new Matt Nathanson album, Modern Love, here! Been waiting to hear this album for months!!
Light Gives Heat received a grant to teach the Suubi women how to cook their food using solar cookers. We took them to Janet's house this AM and set up the solar cookers, and put food out to cook.
photo: Lauren, a Light Gives Heat volunteer from Leeds, England, and Meghan with their solar cookers.
We then went to visit another Suubi woman who was cutting paper to make the paper beads, using a paper cutter, outside of her home. I learned that she came to Jinja from Gulu up north, where the Invisible Children have been working to stop the LRA.
We returned to Meghan's house for lunch, where I got to spend more time catching up with her fellow volunteers. We then headed back out to Janet's house to check on the food. A group of neighbors - including a cadre of kids - gathered around and helped check on the food, and then pack up the solar cookers.
I learned a lot about solar cookers - super interesting!!! And also lovely to get to meet some of the community members. I met a primary school student who dreams of being an accountant. She said her teacher told her about the career path, and that she selected it because she loves math. It was so nice to get to talk with her! Hopefully I'll see her again. This is a beautiful community - and so different from Nanyuki - really cool to get to experience such diversity in one week:)
I've also met some great people at the hostel where I'm staying right now. Pretty much everyone here is staying at the hostel while volunteering for a Jinja-based NGO.
Back to meet up with Meghan tomorrow, for more exploring in Jinja! In the meantime, loving listening to the new Matt Nathanson album, Modern Love, here! Been waiting to hear this album for months!!
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