Visit vcuinvisiblechildren.com or s4s.invisiblechildren.com/schools for information about VCU’s chapter of Invisible Children. Group meetings are held bimonthly on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5:30 p.m.
Green T-shirts and film viewings help
mark this week’s Child Soldier Awareness
Week at VCU, sponsored by VCU’s chapter
of Invisible Children, a group dedicated
to raising awareness and providing aid to
children abused in northern Uganda.
Sarah Knowlton, primary officer of VCU
Invisible Children, said the organization
has scheduled a variety of events through
Sunday night specifically designed to
inform students and get them involved.
“Most of the things we are doing this
week are geared towards just raising
awareness,” Knowlton said. “The focus
is to get people aware of what is going
on over there and to get those students
doing something about it.”
Allison Proffer, secondary officer, said
it is important for students to be aware
of Uganda’s child-abuse issue.
“There is a world outside of our little
world in Richmond,” Proffer said. “I
think that it is good and challenging for
a person’s soul.”
Knowlton, a graphic design major, said
the civil war currently raging in Uganda
has created a dangerous environment for
Ugandan children, forcing most to “night
commute.” Children are taking extensive
routes to school, two to four hours both
ways, for the sake of safety. Knowlton
said children take these routes out of
fear of being abducted by soldiers. When
abducted, the children are brainwashed,
sexually abused and forced into the
military.
Proffer said students should work
together to stop these horrible situations
from occurring.
“As American students and the
upcoming generation, we can stop those
things that are happening (in the world)
that are bad,” Proffer said.
This week’s events provide opportunities
for students to learn more,
get involved and have some fun at the
same time, she said.
Invisible Children has a table outside
the University Student Commons
through Sunday and are selling bright
green T-shirts. Students who buy these
T-shirts should wear them on Friday,
Knowlton said, in support of Invisible
Children and its goal of stopping the
child soldiering.
On Friday evening, there will be a
screening in the Commons of “Invisible
Children: Rough Cut,” a movie
produced by the three men who created
Invisible Children after traveling to
northern Uganda.
“From my experience, once people
see the film they are kind of forced to
act because they cannot just watch it
and not want to do anything,” Knowlton
said.
Proffer said the film had a similar
effect on her.
“It broke my heart. For something
that you’ve heard so little about . it is
just very awakening, I guess, and it kind
of brings you back to reality and makes
you realize that the world is not as it
should be,” Proffer said. “It also helped
me realize that there is something I can
do about it.”
Invisible Children also is sponsoring
an ’80s and ’90s dance-and-costume party
on Saturday night and a free dinner at
Cous Cous on Sunday evening, which will
include two other film screenings, each
telling the story of a different Ugandan
child.
All these events are free, but donations
are accepted. Donation money will
go straight into rebuilding a northern
Ugandan school that VCU is paired
with, Knowlton said. Rebuilding this
school is the main way VCU’s chapter of
Invisible Children supports the situation
in northern Uganda.
Proffer said students can be involved
financially or by giving their time.
“We want (students) . to be involved
in any way they can,” Proffer said. “If
people can commit a couple hours of
their week to help plan prepare events. .
Also (student can be involved by) writing
letters to our senators and government
officials to let them know we do care
about this situation.”