Last year in Human Rights Club we focused our attention on an organization called Invisible Children. I got really involved with the organization and attended events, met people from the organization, donated money and spread the word about what is going on in Uganda. I feel especially close to this organization and was elated when it was chosen for School Chest this year.
When we watched the Invisible Children film in class, it was the third time I had seen it. Every time I see the film I find a new aspect of it that really hits home. The first time I saw the movie, I remember being especially moved by Jacob's emotional breakdown. This time the aspect that stood out in my mind was the stark transition in emotion between the beginning and end of the film, it showed me how involvement with organizations that spark change can help the American youth view the world in a new light. I think that focusing on an international charity for School Chest this year was a good idea because it helps the student body attain a more worldly view.
When I was heavily involved with Invisible Children last year, I participated in a long term fundraiser for the organization. I remember asking my dad to donate money for the cause, and him recounting a time in his youth when his school focused on a charity in Peru. He asked me why I was focusing my attention on an organization outside of the United States when there are people in need here as well. At that time, I did not really know what to say to counter his point besides "you just don't get it." After hearing Jedidiah Jenkins speak on behalf of Invisible Children at this year’s School Chest assembly, I know why this organization means so much to me. If the youth in America and other developed countries don't do anything about this issue in Africa, well then who is? Jenkins explained how the adults of our country are mostly focused on domestic affairs and while many of these issues in the US are valid, children are not being slaughtered, forced to kill their families or brainwashed into joining an army of rebels. Another huge difference between the issues in America and Africa is that if even one child in the US faced an atrocity even close to what children in Africa face every day, it would make international news. Yet, hundreds of children every day in Africa face horrible conditions and ever present evils and most of the general population is not even aware of this.
Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and author once wrote, "The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference," this quote speaks to the issue of people in our world who are aware of what is happening in Uganda but do not take measures in order to make a difference. We need to eliminate the bystanders worldwide in order to stop Joseph Kony from dehumanizing the children of Africa.
