It is a typical Friday night in downtown Los Angeles music and drinks are abundant at the party scene in club Cinespace. But there is a different purpose beyond just networking and partying for this group. The celebrities everyday people and Pepperdine students are gathered here to try to put an end to the longest war in Africa to date.
This gathering was the premiere of the second film made to combat the use of children in the ongoing war in Uganda. “Invisible Children: The Rescue” premiered Friday Feb. 20 and was the only premiere of the film in Los Angeles.
Three Southern California college students Jason Russell Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole are the founders of this movement which is known as Invisible Children. The three left for Africa in 2003 looking for a film making adventure. What they discovered triggered their life passion and has since become a philanthropic movement.
The Invisible Children movement is focused on stopping one man: Joseph Kony. The name does not mean much to the average American citizen but for the people of Uganda it strikes fear into every heart.
The three returned from northern Uganda with the horrendous story of child soldiers used by Kony in his rebel army. It was then that they left their previous lives behind to pour everything they had into saving the children.
The film premiere was co-hosted by another non-profit organization called Philanthro Productions which works solely to raise money for movements like Invisible Children. With taglines like “party for a better future Philanthro combines the preexistent party culture of America with a push to raise money for important causes.
Bailey said this is about more than the evil of Kony; he needs to spread the word about this injustice because of the human lives at stake.
This isn’t just about one man this is about taking a stance against crimes against humanity Bailey said. What we’re trying to say is lets have a standard of not doing certain things in this world.”
After the release of their first film “Invisible Children: Rough Cut in 2003, many viewers were shocked to learn that children as young as nine were being forced to carry AK-47s through the jungle and serve as soldiers in the Lord’s Resistance Army” (LRA).
Desperate to spread the word about these child soldiers the founders went to Washington D.C. in 2003 to appear before Congress hold rallies and host letter writing campaigns. They met with success in Washington and an American senior level diplomat Timothy Shortley was assigned to the situation.
From June 2006 to March 2008 historic peace talks were held in Uganda between the government and the LRA. But unfortunately no conclusion was ever reached because Kony would not show up and the hopes of the people were once again dashed to despair.
This was when Russell Bailey and Poole decided to take more drastic measures. The point of this second film is to focus on one date: April 25. On this day hundreds of people in nine different countries and 100 cities will all “abduct” themselves to a public place in order to raise awareness about the children soldiers. The “abductees” will only consider themselves rescued if the media a person of influence and a lawmaker all show up at each event and state that they recognize the importance of the crisis.
Senior Eliot Cavale a Pepperdine student who attended the film premiere said he went because he has a passion for Africa.
“I really liked the first movie and the Invisible Children cause Cavale said. I’m interested in seeking social justice and supporting this type of thing.”
The Southern California Regional Assistant for Invisible Children Kyle Lederer said she saw one of the Invisible Children films and then quit her job to help the cause. She now works full time with the organization.
“I realized that the investment I would be making was in American youth Lederer said. I’m a firm believer in blooming where you’re planted and I want to help the youth in America realize the importance of this cause.”
“Rescue” isn’t the only new addition to Invisible Children. Another project allows members to give only $3 a week to the cause of Invisible Children – $12 a month until this war ends.To get more information or donate to the cause visit www.invisiblechildren.com