In the spring of 2003, three young Americans traveled to Africa in search of such a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more, when these boys from Southern California found themselves stranded in Northern Uganda. What they found was a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them – a story where children are the weapons and the victims. The “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” documentary exposes the effects of a 20-year-long war on the children of Northern Uganda who are being abducted from their homes, and forced to fight as child soldiers. Seen through the eyes of these young filmmakers, this documentary is humorous, heartbreaking, informative, and is the first of it’s kind- motivating a demographic of otherwise uninterested youth around the globe to get involved in this horrific situation in Africa.
They originally screened the film in June 2004 for friends and family, and soon expanded to high schools, colleges and religious institutions. From suburban living rooms to Capitol Hill, with coverage on Oprah, CNN, Channel One, and the National Geographic Channel, more than 1.5 million people have seen the film to date.
“After people saw the film, they wanted to give, they wanted to do something, and we had no way for them to give back. I can’t remember when we decided ‘Okay, let’s make it a company,’ It was out of the necessity . . . at the time there was no international attention about the war. No one was talking about child soldiers, night commuters, or the LRA. So all three of us felt this weight of, if we don’t do something, then how many more kids are going to be abducted? So the whole goal became, how do we bring this story home? Why should Americans care about these kids who are running for their lives? That became the motto behind everything we do: Getting someone to care. From the beginning there was always an urgency to work our hardest and our longest.”
JASON RUSSELL
Filmmaker and Founder of Invisible Children, Inc.
Excerpt from Global Night Commute: the Making of a RevolutionIn September 2004, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created in an attempt give people a way to easily respond to the situation in Northern Uganda after viewing the film. Based out of San Diego, Invisible Children is changing the face of non-profit work by personally connecting two unlikely worlds – the youth of America with war-affected children around the globe. Using video, music, art, guerilla marketing, and an interactive web community such as “Schools for Schools,” Invisible Children is centered around raising public awareness in the U.S. in an attempt to spur youth into action and to change the current policies of governments around the world. Invisible Children, Inc. is the never before. Older generations’ tactics are becoming irrelevant, and Invisible Children will continue pursuit of unconventional methods for reaching a generation that others are struggling to understand.
Invisible Children Inc. is also responsible for raising significant sums of money, which go toward a number of programs they have developed in Uganda and America (see below) focusing largely on education and rehabilitation of war-effected areas.
Invisible Children appeals to people who have a heart for children. The children in Northern Uganda are human beings, similar to those in the U.S. and everywhere else. But the world is large, child soldiers are being forced into combat right now around the globe, and many children still remain “invisible.” IC as a company, and the revolution it began, will continue to stand against such injustice.
In April 2007, Invisible Children hosted a nationwide event,
Diplace Me, "to raise awareness about the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps and the effects of the 21-year war in Northern Uganda.'
Video:
Displace Me Reaches the Halls of Congress (Featuring Senators John Kerry, Russ Feingold among others; your letters and actions do matter)
Invisible Childrenedited typo.
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