In the spring of 2003, three young Americans set out for Africa, in search of adventure and a story. They found what they were looking for. They found a tragedy that changed their lives and has since changed the lives of many who have heard the story. They found the invisible children of Uganda.

Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey headed to Africa with a desire to have their lives changed. Armed with camera equipment they had purchased on eBay, they set out for Sudan, a country that has been rocked with continual war and strife. Unable to find anything in Sudan that could capture their short attention spans they set out for Uganda and soon found themselves in the northern part of that nation. It was there that they found their story.

What they found were children who were being abducted and forced to participate in one of the meaningless, brutal wars that rage in Africa. Young children, even just six or eight years old, are taken from villages and the countryside, are indoctrinated, and forced to bear arms against their own people. They are subjected to unbelievable horrors. They watch their friends and siblings being killed and dismembered simply so their captors can destroy their innocence and shock them into subjection. They are warned that any attempts at escape will end in a brutal, violent death. Those who do escape are hunted like dogs.

Every night the large towns in this part of Uganda fill with children - children who flee the surrounding villages lest they be abducted. Thousands of children migrate to bus parks and hospitals to spend the night in relative safety. Largely unsupervised and with little more than a blanket and the clothes on their backs, these children return night after night. They have no choice. They are desperately poor and suffer terrible abuses. It truly is a tragedy the likes of which is foreign to the mindsets of North Americans.

Having brought the story of these invisible children before a North American audience, Russell, Poole and Bailey have great plans for aiding the children. Their plan has three parts. First, they wish to expose the effects of a 20 year-long war on the children of Northern Uganda by telling their stories in a relevant way. Second, they wish to empower the individual viewer towards action (volunteering, donations, the bracelet campaign, political pressure, etc.). Finally, they would like to use the proceeds to provide aid to the invisible children on the ground, in Uganda. "Our dream," they say, "is to inspire the young and young at heart, to challenge their thinking, and empower them to 'be the change they wish to see in the world' through action." To this end the organization encourages individuals to host viewing parties, to be creative, and ultimately to donate money to the cause. According to the extra features on the DVD, the young men have partnered with World Vision to design communities in Uganda that will provide safe housing and education for the children. These projects can begin only when there are sufficient funds available.

• 10/23/2007 23:27
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