Kony 2012

You've probably seen Kony 2012 all over social media the past two days. Maybe you've taken time to watch this video that explains this project. Maybe you've glanced over what this is about.

Well, I agree with Invisible Children. If a thirteen-year-old girl can become a celebrity overnight for a horrible music video, then it's time for Joseph Kony to become famous for his crimes.

What the heck is Jenna talking about? You might be wondering. Who is this Joseph Kony guy?
Let me take you back...to my freshman year of high school, 2006.

For my English class, we took a period to watch a documentary that some local college kids made about something going on in Africa.

Oh, boy, did the waterworks pour.
Three Americans went to Uganda and discovered that a man named Joseph Kony led the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army, and no, this isn't a religious group) who abducted children, forced them to become soldiers, mutilated people, killed people, raped girls, and committed just about every atrocity you can think of. I saw hundreds of people huddled together at night for protection. I saw the victims of these crimes, the few who had escaped. I heard a boy's testimony of the horrors, saw him cry, heard him admit he'd rather die than live, even now that he was free. All of this has been going on since 1986. And no one knew about it, until three California boys with a camera captured it all.
These three college boys started Invisible Children, a group that was determined to end this war.

I donated what I could when my high school's club would have fundraisers. I didn't go to the club because of schedule conflicts. Honestly, I didn't do as much as I could have. I did some, but not as much as I wish I did.

Other people did, though. Invisible Children has grown and this year, they're determined that Kony will be famous for his crimes.

Joseph Kony, the world's #1 most wanted war criminal

I'm not going to be able to give up school and march around America shouting for this cause, but I'm determined to do more than I did before. Evil only continues when we sit by.

Some people criticize Invisible Children's involvement in this. They say America should sit by and worry about our own problems. Let Uganda deal with this. We have no business interfering.

But get this. All Invisible Children is asking is that 100 advisers stay in Uganda to help the government capture Kony. None of our troops. None of our soldiers dying. Only 100 advisers to save thousands of lives.

Is this really such a hard decision to make? For me, it isn't. Kony must be stopped. And 2012 is the year.

This is only the briefest of information, but I encourage you to learn more about this and get involved. Helpful links to do this:
Kony 2012 video
Invisible Children's first documentary
Invisible Children's website
Sign the pledge