In 1987 a man named Joseph Kony began a movement (which he has based on his views of the Ten Commandments) planning to overthrow the government of President Yoweri Museveni. This movement became knowns as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). They torture civilians and force fear upon them by cutting off ears, hands, and even lips.

And Joseph Kony's army? Children that his followers have abducted and forced to become a part of the movement by extremely violent means. There are over 25,000 children that have been forced to become part of the rebel troop (which resides in Sudan). These enslaved children are often forced to torture and kill eachother, their families, and burn down their villages.

If an enslaved child does manage to escape they can go to refugee camps where they are allowed to stay for 45 days where they receive counseling before returning home, if home still exists. They experience horrible nightmares and are both mentally and physically scarred. A now 16 year old girl was interviewed by a man from CNN-Gulu and asked about what occured while she had been imprisoned. When she was 12 she was forced to become the twelfth wife and sex slave of one of Kony's followers, which resulted in her now 4 year old daughter. She told the story of a boy that attempted to escape and failed at doing so. As his punishment, the other children in the camp (including herself) were forced to bite him as hard as they could until he finally died, which took hours. She still hears his screams.

Every night thousands of children (known as 'commuters') walk for miles in order to sleep safely. They walk to live a day longer, to escape torture, sexual abuse, and different forms or slavery (labor and sex).

"According to the United Nations, more than 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes, into displacement camps. These people are unable to farm due to war and international food assistance is inadequate. Illness is rampant because the country is too insecure for humanitarian aid agencies or the Ugandan government to provide regular health services.

To make matters worse, the LRA attacks displacement camps to abduct children. Because the camps are not secure, parents often feel that they have no other choice but to send their children to walk ("commute") for several miles to the nearest town, where it may be safer.

As many as 25,000 children travel each night to seek safety. On their journey, the children sleep out in the open, unprotected from the LRA or others who want to kidnap them."

Why am I writing this? I am writing to spread the word of an unseen war, to help save innocent children and give them a chance to experience life as it should be. Free of fear, free of murder, and free of war. We can help to open the world's eyes, we can help to make a difference, we can end this.

Help raise awareness about what's going on.

Please take a look at these:
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www.invisiblechildren.com


***Now for the news! I never said anything about this but I had misplaced the charger for my camera's battery which is why I haven't had anything too new. Well, last night as I was searching through my room for photoshop to give to my love I came across the charger! Excitement all around. Now I can finally put my telephoto to use. Ah, this one is rather happy. ***