Here's Why YOU Should Care

(WarChild, About Us)

Imagine your little brother or sister, cousin, or even child being forced into a rebel army and made to fight and kill. Imagine that small frame of a child carrying a machine gun and shaping his little fingers around the trigger. Imagine that gun firing and that small helpless child being forced to end a life. Imagine the little neighbor girl being abducted and forced to be a sex slave to the rebel leaders. Imagine her becoming pregnant and cast back out on the street with no help. Imagine a life where an entire generation of children has never seen a day of peace.

A world like this falls nothing short of your worst nightmare. Don’t let this life continue to be all these children know. With your help, we can make a difference through organizations like Amnesty International, Invisible Children, and WarChild. They are registered charities that devote their time and money into ending the abuse of children. Even if you can’t make a monetary contribution, join the cause and help raise awareness. You CAN make the difference these children need.

For the last quarter of a century, groups like the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) and GoA (Government of Uganda) have been at war with each other and have been endangering the lives of over 2 million innocent civilians. In the 1980’s, a lady by the name of Alice Lakwena, believed that the Holy Spirit spoke to her and told her to overthrow the Ugandan government. She was able to gather a large army because the Uganda government was already widely resented. They were known as the Holy Spirit movement. The GoA abruptly exiled Lakwena and a new figure head stepped forward. His name was Joseph Kony and he transformed the Holy Movement into the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA didn’t receive as much support as the Holy Movement had gotten and Kony and his rebel army resorted to abducting children and forcing them to fight in their rebel army. In 1996, the Ugandan government exiled thousands into camps in efforts to protect them. However, more than a decade later, those same people are still in the same camps and still suffering. Although many peace treaties have been attempted, not one has ever followed through. Most recently, in March of 2008, the United States and other nations assisted the Ugandan Government in another talk called The Juba Peace Talks. This last effort at first seemed promising but this one also failed to get Kony to agree to any form of peace (Invisible Children, History).

This is just one of the many examples that have plagued places like Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Along with child warfare, there is sexual abuse, widespread poverty, hunger, disease, and children whose parents have died and left them parentless. If we have the means to help, then why don’t we?

Sources:
Invisible Children. “A History of Africa’s Longest Running War.” 23 July 2009 <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/about/history/>.

WarChild. “About Us.” 24 July 2009 <http://www.warchild.ca/index.php/aboutus/>.