Norco, California, USA

Dear Imagiverse and friends around the world,

I had no idea there was a war going on in Uganda until my friend in the UN Club told us all about it.  Apparently, it's been going on for twenty years.  A man named Joseph Kony wants to overthrow the government.  He's built his rebel army, the L.R.A., by abducting Ugandan children and brainwashing/forcing them to do horrible things.  They've terrorized Uganda so much that many are forced to flee their homes and stay in displacement camps.  These camps are very cramped and the people there live in very unsanitary conditions, often times on less than a dollar a day.  They have no source of income.

While this is horrifying enough to make someone want to take action, the real story is the children.  Children, anywhere from four years old to nineteen, travel from their homes at night to the bus parks and the hospitals just for a safe place to sleep.  They also sleep in the hospitals and bus parks to avoid being abducted by the L.R.A.  In the documentary, Invisible Children, you see tiny bodies packed together in these places.  You see the children go ignored, you see them suffer, and the most amazing part about all of it is they still dance and celebrate life in spite the desperation in their lives.

After seeing the documentary and reading more about it, I realized I will never have peace until I do something about it.  Africa suffers for no reason while we live lives heavy with privilege and luxury.  We complain about things that are meaningless and whine about the things we don't have but want.  So, if you could, I'm asking you to help, even if it's just by simply telling someone about it.

The Invisible Children organization has started a movement called Displace Me that takes place every year in designated areas.  On this day, you volunteer to leave your house and be displaced for 24 hours just like the people in Uganda have been displaced for more than ten years.  You will have a chance to write to the president, governor and newspapers/media.  This is done to gain media attention so that the government will aid in peace talks and help take action in Uganda.

I've said a lot about what's going on in Uganda, but there is still more to the story.  If you want to know more about the war in Uganda and the Invisible Children or the organization aiding them, please visit: http://www.invisiblechildren.com

Here is a list of websites you can visit to find out more about what's happening Africa:

http://www.savedarfur.org- this site talks more about Darfur and the war in Sudan, but is still related to the suffering of its people.

http://www.thehungersite.com- poverty around the world

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org- the doctors who help these people from Africa to the Middle East to South America.

http://www.one.org- the site dedicated to eliminating poverty around the world, the kids can buy bracelets from the site (you know, those rubber bracelets - they come in white and say ONE.org) which donates money to the cause.

Your friend,

Tianna Sicilia
Norco, California