Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Aid Uganda Project is on a great path. Recently, over the past two weeks to exact, we raised a total of $311, which $250 was used in order rent the Orpheum, where the benefit concert will be played in a couple of months. Those in FRCS who wish to donate, but haven't had the chance, come find us! Anything will help.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I went over the funds that the Aid Uganda Project has been recieving over the past couple of weeks. As of right now, we only have $167. It's not bad to start out with, but we really do need more. Hopefully with the selling of T-shirts, the benefit concert, etc, the funds coming in will greatly rise. COME ON PEOPLE!!!! DON'T STOP CARING!!!!!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Invisible Children Forced to tote a gun,Instead of having funAs little children might,Brainwashed and numbed they fight-Child soldiers. While heaving silent sobs,Of everything pure their lives are robbed.To bus stops daily they tramp,A hospital serves as a camp.Packed together on the floor-This is the only safe placeFor the children who will tasteThe fear, it seems, forever more. Uganda, oh Uganda,Your land weeps with the tearsOf these little ones' unspoken fears.When, oh when!Will there be peace,From this slaughter, sweet release? No more these babes can cry,For if to start, they'd never finish;Sobbing for the ones who dieAnd their tears could not diminishThe terrible ache inside.
Crying for the tiny boy,
His heart growing cold to joy,As he watches the murder of his friend.Sorrowing for the heartbroken motherWho fears the more for the younger brotherOf her darling child disappeared. Mourning for the kidnapped girl,Struggling to preserve the precious pearlOf innocence and all that's pure. Weeping for a nation brokenTorn by war and evil's tokenViolence and lust for power,Found prowling next to hate's bower. Meanwhile, the world stands muteAs pain and bitterness take root,And children grow old before their time-Tell me, what is there to do but rhyme?These words only dimly can conveyThe devastation happening every day. When will we take a stand?I tell you the time is now at hand!Make the choiceTo be the voiceFor those that have none-It starts with one.
(http://www.progressiveu.org/031936-invisible-children-a-poem)
Right now the goal of my blogs are to get you to just think. Think about how you would feel if you were in their situation. Wouldn't you want someone to help you. Do not be a bystander.
Information is often hard to find about what happens in Uganda each day, as in a new report, so the main point of this blog will be for me to try and make you care.
Crying for the tiny boy,
His heart growing cold to joy,As he watches the murder of his friend.Sorrowing for the heartbroken motherWho fears the more for the younger brotherOf her darling child disappeared. Mourning for the kidnapped girl,Struggling to preserve the precious pearlOf innocence and all that's pure. Weeping for a nation brokenTorn by war and evil's tokenViolence and lust for power,Found prowling next to hate's bower. Meanwhile, the world stands muteAs pain and bitterness take root,And children grow old before their time-Tell me, what is there to do but rhyme?These words only dimly can conveyThe devastation happening every day. When will we take a stand?I tell you the time is now at hand!Make the choiceTo be the voiceFor those that have none-It starts with one.
(http://www.progressiveu.org/031936-invisible-children-a-poem)
Right now the goal of my blogs are to get you to just think. Think about how you would feel if you were in their situation. Wouldn't you want someone to help you. Do not be a bystander.
Information is often hard to find about what happens in Uganda each day, as in a new report, so the main point of this blog will be for me to try and make you care.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Asidius Kisekka, Age 9
“I am 9 years old now. I am in primary two [second grade] at St. Kizito Sabina Boarding Primary School. After my studies I want to become a doctor. My best subjects are maths, English, and Luganda [A Ugandan language]. I also love dancing and singing. When I am not at school I like running around and digging.”
Urban Mugume, Age 13
“I’m in primary four [fourth grade] now. We have just finished doing mid-term exams which I hope to pass well. St. Kizito Sabina Boarding Primary School is my school. I love my teachers and classmates. In fact I want to become a medical doctor. I like eating bananas, cassava, and juicy fruits. Bananas are common in our area. My hobbies are playing football, reading novels about politicians and people’s life. I also enjoy singing.”
Bob Lubega, Age 7
“I am now in primary two [second grade]. I like drawing pictures, maths, and reading story books. I also like dancing and playing football. When I grow up I want to be an engineer.”
Stella Akello, Age 10
“I am in primary five [fifth grade]. In primary five we learn English grammar, English comprehension, math, science, and religious education. I like English grammar because my teacher is good. I don’t like math because it is difficult and tricky. My best game is basketball. When I grow up I want to be a teacher because we don’t have enough teachers.”
Sylvia Nakamate, Age 14
“I enjoy reading novels, playing football, listening to music, and playing netball. I also enjoy eating meat, matooke [a banana dish], and posho [a corn meal dish]. In the future I hope to be a nurse.”
(http://www.childrenofuganda.org/sponsorChildStories.html)
These are the wishes of just a few children; what they dream their life will become. You remeber when you were younger don't you? Dreaming of where life would take you. The difference between you and these children however, is that you were able to find out. If help is not aquired soon, they never will. How would you feel in their situation? Think about it.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ideas For Fundraising/ Raising Awareness
1. Change for Change
2. A Day without Desks
3. Benefit Concert
4. Selling T-shirts
5. Selling Invisible Children Bracelets
6. What if Your Child Were Invisible
7. Writing Contest ( What is someone I loved were Invisible?)
Those are only a few, however we are open to other ideas that would either raise money or raise awareness. There will be more information to come including dates and complete explainations of what the events entail within a couple of days. There will also be updated information about the situation in Uganda.
1. Change for Change
2. A Day without Desks
3. Benefit Concert
4. Selling T-shirts
5. Selling Invisible Children Bracelets
6. What if Your Child Were Invisible
7. Writing Contest ( What is someone I loved were Invisible?)
Those are only a few, however we are open to other ideas that would either raise money or raise awareness. There will be more information to come including dates and complete explainations of what the events entail within a couple of days. There will also be updated information about the situation in Uganda.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Aid Uganda Project is making great efforts to help people become more aware of the situation over in Uganda. Currently we are planning a mini displace me to take place in the school parking lot. The goal at some point this year is to have a giant displace me in the Foxboro Common. The purpose of this is to experience how people over in Uganda are forced to sleep on top of each other, often with nothing more to eat than bread and rice. What would it be like if you were displaced?
I had absolutely no idea what has been going on in Uganda until the presentation had been given in school last year. Not once have I ever been brought that close to tears. After that, all I wanted to do was help, so I made the decision to become involved in the Aid Uganda Project, in which I was elected Treasurer. It's been one of the best decisions that I have ever made, but that is beside the point. In case you are as ignorant as I was about the current situation in Uganda, here is a little bit o background information provided by http://invisiblechildren.com.
UGANDA TODAY
"Since 2003, night commuting has all but ceased for the children of northern Uganda. A temporary truce between the Ugandan government and the LRA has held for more than a year, and as peace continues to progress, many nations, including the US, have appointed special envoys to oversee this process. This current cessation of hostilities marks the longest period of peace in the North for more than 20 years, and while the hope for peace is strong and the talks have made significant strides in reducing the conflict, a declaration for lasting peace has yet to be signed. In Gulu and the surrounding districts, issues concerning the nature of justice for victims and perpetrators for war crimes are presently being debated.
With peace now in sight, greater focus is being placed on the aftermath of the conflict. Currently the majority of northern Uganda’s population lives in IDP camps, and while the desire is for them to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former ways of life are all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern in daily life and even more so for the many who contemplate a return to resource-barren villages.
In light of the current situation and a nearing peace, Invisible Children is addressing the need for access to education and economic development through three innovative programs on the ground. To learn more about these programs and how you can contribute to lasting peace and development click here."
THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S LONGEST RUNNING WAR
"The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 21 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Ugandan government has failed to protect its citizens from this rebel militia that has murdered mothers and buried the young, leaving an entire generation of youth that has never known peace. The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholis. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA.Kony’s LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement because of their extreme tactics. With dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops are children. In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and relocated them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later roughly 1.5 million individuals live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation. In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization, a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders. Pressure from the international community and a strong desire to realize peace has brought the Ugandan government and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a cessation of hostility agreement was signed the following month. In July 2007, the US appointed Tim Shortly as a special envoy to assist in the peace talks, an action that solidified the US’s dedication to ending this conflict. For the talks to come to a peaceful resolution, five agenda items must be agreed upon between the LRA and the Ugandan government. With only two agendas remaining, these negotiations represent the best chance this war has seen for peace. "
UGANDA TODAY
"Since 2003, night commuting has all but ceased for the children of northern Uganda. A temporary truce between the Ugandan government and the LRA has held for more than a year, and as peace continues to progress, many nations, including the US, have appointed special envoys to oversee this process. This current cessation of hostilities marks the longest period of peace in the North for more than 20 years, and while the hope for peace is strong and the talks have made significant strides in reducing the conflict, a declaration for lasting peace has yet to be signed. In Gulu and the surrounding districts, issues concerning the nature of justice for victims and perpetrators for war crimes are presently being debated.
With peace now in sight, greater focus is being placed on the aftermath of the conflict. Currently the majority of northern Uganda’s population lives in IDP camps, and while the desire is for them to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former ways of life are all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern in daily life and even more so for the many who contemplate a return to resource-barren villages.
In light of the current situation and a nearing peace, Invisible Children is addressing the need for access to education and economic development through three innovative programs on the ground. To learn more about these programs and how you can contribute to lasting peace and development click here."
THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S LONGEST RUNNING WAR
"The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 21 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Ugandan government has failed to protect its citizens from this rebel militia that has murdered mothers and buried the young, leaving an entire generation of youth that has never known peace. The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholis. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA.Kony’s LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement because of their extreme tactics. With dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops are children. In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and relocated them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later roughly 1.5 million individuals live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation. In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization, a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders. Pressure from the international community and a strong desire to realize peace has brought the Ugandan government and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a cessation of hostility agreement was signed the following month. In July 2007, the US appointed Tim Shortly as a special envoy to assist in the peace talks, an action that solidified the US’s dedication to ending this conflict. For the talks to come to a peaceful resolution, five agenda items must be agreed upon between the LRA and the Ugandan government. With only two agendas remaining, these negotiations represent the best chance this war has seen for peace. "
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