I'm baaaaaaaack!

Many people are well aware that there will be an Invisible Children gathering on April 25, 2009 called “The Rescue.” Not too many people know what it is all about. Let me shed some light on what the event is all about.

Background

23 years. That is how long the government of Uganda and a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has been at war with one another. There have been efforts to try to bring the two parties to peace, but Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, has refused to such efforts. The conflict has the people living in chaos and fear. The LRA has not only taken hundreds of lives, but they have left thousands of Africans displaced from their homes, taking captive whomever they please and keeping them locked in camps. Further, the LRA is known for taking children from their villages and homes and forcing them to fight in this war. Helping the children from being abducted used to be the main concern of Invisible Children, but the concept has since expanded and we are interested in creating peace for Uganda. Recently, this war is starting to spread to the surrounding countries, and we need to put a stop to Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army.

The Rescue

What thousands of participants around the world are going to be doing is gathering together to abduct ourselves from our everyday lives in hopes that we can get out as much exposure as we can about those abducted in this war.

If you are going to be participating in a city near you, be sure that you have:

• Three photographs of you with your friends, family or guardian. Please place a red circle around yourself in the photo, symbolizing that you have been abducted. You will drop off one of these photos at the abduction site, and include the other two with the letters you write to your political representatives.

• Supplies to set up camp and then wait for your Rescue. You don’t need much. The kids in Uganda leave for the bush with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Therefore, please bring the smallest amount of supplies that you need to survive until you are rescued. These supplies could include a sleeping bag, pillow, warm clothes, comfortable shoes, food, water and a tarp (or sleeping pad) if it is forecasted to rain. Remember, you will have to carry these supplies for up to three miles during the march to the LRA camp.

• Supplies to write letters and complete a simple art project. Grab just a small amount of pens or paint to make your letters and art piece your own. If you have extras, please bring some to share.

• $5 Dollars, Euros or Pounds. Please bring 5 bucks to the event. This money covers the cost to host this international awareness event.

We will have a designating meeting place where we will leave one of our photos behind that will signify that we’re taking ourselves away from that life right now and only concerning ourselves with the abduction. Depending on the city, all of the participants will trek from the meeting place to their designated “LRA camp,” where you will set up camp, make art supplies, take photos and participate in peaceful protest against Joseph Kony. The wait in the LRA camp will only be disrupted when local leaders (Senators, Mayors, Radio Hosts) and not-so-local media members (Actors, Musicians) show their support and do the best that they can to get the word out about this terrifying ordeal that has plagued Uganda for almost a quarter of a century.

We are going to put an end to this, but we need help! If you are interested in participating, you can go to the Invisible Children website and it will give you all the information that you need.

(If you're going to be in Chicago, let me know!)

Also, here is the Who/What/When/Where/Why about The Rescue as reported by BreeSays.

Play an active role in making the world a more aware and a much more peaceful place.