by Caitlin Mulvihill
When the student body assembled in the large gym for chapel on Wednesday , very few students were anticipating being hit by the horrific images of the tragedies present in the lives of thousands of Ugandan children.
The documentary that was viewed by faculty and students is called “Invisible Children,” and has a reputation for turning over Americans’ safety boats of ignorance and forcing them into the rocky waters of reality. This short video records the story of several young men who traveled to Africa attempting to document the civil war in Sudan. However, while stranded in Uganda (just south of Sudan), their expedition took a drastic and unexpected turn. This film is dedicated to the heartbreaking and untold events occurring in the lives of thousands of children.
In 1994, rebel groups began regularly abducting children between the ages of 5 and 17 and forcing them into coalition with these rebel groups where they are trained as child soldiers. Thousands of children have gone missing as a result of this movement, and thousands more still travel up to 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, nightly in order to escape abduction. Gulu is a city in Uganda, which hosts 15,000 children each night. These kids sleep in bus parks and emergency accommodation centers. Many of these children have been orphaned as a result of the AIDS epidemic, and most of them have nothing.
It was both astounding and horrifying, seeing a screen full of children sleeping huddled together on the filthy ground. Americans, especially teens, often have a difficult time relating to such dehumanizing situations, and it is all too easy to become overwhelmed. The same film that was viewed by our Student Body has also been viewed by the United Nations Association, the Carter Center, and the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Its viewing is encouraged firstly, because it extends awareness, but more importantly, because it shows that there is a need for assistance, and offers a way to help. Invisible Children has become a non-profit organization and is working with the local Ugandan Governments and its citizens to help aid and heal the disastrous state of affairs.
Valley Christian’s humanitarian club has chosen to participate in Invisible Children’s ‘Schools for Schools’ program, in which American Schools are given an opportunity to set aside differences and raise money for Northern Uganda. Anyone interested in participating can contact Mrs. Marshall or Danielle Dupre.
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