The two positions targeting Kony and allegedly sanitising Museveni are not mutually exclusive. The LRA on the other hand, has proven insincere and uncommitted to peace. The African Union and other sub-regional organizations on the continent have totally ignored the LRA menace.
If galvanizing the international community will make the difference between impunity and ending decades of conflict, this is definitely worth our support.
Instead of making utterly false predictions based on illogical analysis that the campaign risks renewing or prolonging the conflict, a more comprehensive risk-analysis should provide viable alternatives instead of peddling cynical critiques that are false and counter productive. This entry was […]. The creators of the KONY campaign are brilliant in their use of propaganda and bias alongside the combining and leaving-out of facts. I welcome any comments on this. This NGO represents what is most corrosive in the advancement of prescriptive social assistance as I strongly suspect the majority of the funding did not go into the field but rather was used for HQ use in order to create this video which in several elements is factually incorrect insofar as the video distorts the truth in order to promote astringent angst which is counter to the political public nuance grounding the verity of The LRA; which was at one moment in time a decade ago, an organization most strong in victim abuse and social terror.
I have to ask myself what is behind this event, Kony is a nightmare that had been there for the last 20 years, to come out now and trivialize it,appealing to the emotions of people using propaganda and not been truthful in their account of reality, appealing to celebrities to get a bigger pull one star wondering..
Invisible Children created a 29 minute video to highlight a human issue and compel the world to do something to shape human history in a positive way. To me, that is worth some salt. My personal sentiment is that the work Invisible Children does in Central Africa is of the very highest legitimacy and impact.
They have built and are currently operating the first rehabilitation center to service LRA-affected communities in DR Congo. This center is providing intensive counseling to LRA victims even as you read this.
They are providing nearly 1, promising secondary and university students in northern Uganda scholarships and mentors. They have rebuilt eleven northern Ugandan partner schools that were damaged or destroyed by war, and they have implemented groundbreaking and high-impact microeconomic initiatives like Mend and the Village Saving and Loan Association that are spurring a local economy and creating livelihoods in a post-conflict region.
To me, that is substantial. And now, they created a film that has been viewed by millions and millions of people, many of whom had never heard of Joseph Kony before. Invisible Children did not create or blindly support this issue. Research what resolve. If you have alternative suggestions, please raise them. But please remember that the reason why we are discussing this issue in the first place is this 29 minute video.
I consider that a success. I decided to do some research. Through the IC website and some other sources I came to my own conclusion. To be honest, many of the accusation made against IC are true. However, it is how IC has responded to the criticism and what they are doing now that has led me to give this organization a positive review. Its obvious that the company, though far from perfect, is willing to learn from their past mistakes. All of their information is posted on their website.
No deception or over simplification, only honesty and passion for a cause. Invisible Children has the potential to make a great impact if others are willing to invest in them. They deserves a second chance, same as the children they are trying to help in East and Central Africa. I would definitely consider supporting this honest, improving organization.
The actions and motives of Invisible Children have been a huge topic of discussion from the time the viral video Kony was uploaded. After watching it, I found myself asking a lot of questions. I have thoroughly researched the organization and I found some interesting facts.
The problem with this however is President Obama sent U. My problem with U. Involvement is that if Kony isn't found soon, I could see the U. If this is the case then what motives are behind I. The children are the main focus. I do support I. Rating: 2. I have been doing research on Invisible Children for months. I think that Invisible Children definitely is a pure organization with a good heart, but I also have a hard time supporting how the organization goes about fixing the Joseph Kony problem.
Invisible Children goes about trying to get rid of Kony mainly just by making him known. Until Invisible Children gets new tactics on how to stop Kony, I am not sure I would donate to them again.
Besides trying to help arrest Kony they provide many beneficial programs in Northern Uganda. For example, Mend teaches the skill of tailoring to women and provides counseling for the trauma they have experienced; another program Schools for Schools makes education more accessible to many children living in the area.
Both of these programs are helping strengthen the weak economy of Uganda. While it is hard to look past many of the critiques in the media about Invisible Children, the fact that they are indeed changing the lives of many harmed by Kony shines through. Personally that is enough for me to consider supporting their organization. I first heard of Invisible Children when a friend sent me the Kony video.
I was hooked just like many were, however, once the incident with Jason Russell happened, I was skeptical. Although, later I gave I. I also did some research on whether or not it was a trustworthy organization. According to ethical fundraising books and an article from the Better Business Bureau, I. For example, they provide all their financial statements and show what percentages are going to fundraising, paying employees, schools in Uganda etc.
Yes, Jason Russell was careless in some of his choices, but I. There are plenty of other responsible employees of I. I made no initial action however to support IC, but instead critiqued both positive and negative aspects of this organization and their mission. Undoubtedly, IC has an admirable goal with the intention of saving thousands of lives from the Central African region. But, after watching the mission progress, I now find the emotional appeal of Invisible Children is no longer effective.
The mission of Kony has surely been to raise awareness of Joseph Kony and the LRA from the beginning, but IC now overlooks the poor and broken people of third-world nations that were displayed so explicitly in "Kony ".
This organization needs to be about the children. By being well informed and doing extensive research on the main issues of the organization of Invisible Children, as well as watching Kony , I have come to the conclusion that for being a young organization they have done a very good job.
They have not only reached but exceeded their main goal, which was to capture the attention of literally the entire world. They have made good use of their resources by using the media, campaigns, advertisements and protests. In the beginning I was skeptical of the trustworthiness of the organization due to the fact that the media bashed Invisible Children by what happened to Jason Russell, not knowing that it was due to a mental breakdown.
Even though they have not resolved their financial management issues, I believe, for the time being, they are doing an excellent job, considering they are a young organization and all the experiences they have already been through. Their future looks bright. That to me is the main problem that this organization has, which no clear objective. I feel uneasy not knowing precisely where my money is going and how it is going to be used.
Would definitely not recommend Invisible Children as a quality organization to commit to. My first experience with Invisible Children was coming across the Kony video on Facebook. I watched it and my heart was torn for the children of Uganda, so I decided to research this organization a bit more. Shockingly, I was confronted with many controversies about the leaders, mission and finances of IC. I spent the next few months dissecting and researching to discover whether there were truths in those claims about IC.
I continued to learn that a multitude of the other claims were just due to false rumors and were not true. I am now seriously considering supporting this organization and fully believe it deserves your support as well. Having been a volunteer for Invisible Children and researched Invisible Children as well as Kony , my opinion of the organization has made a drastic change.
Invisible Children is not helping Uganda by trying to get the Ugandan government to shift its focus onto Joseph Kony, because Uganda has larger problems than Kony.
Uganda needs to put their time, effort, and money towards making their nation stronger, and by becoming stronger, then going after Kony. I have volunteered with Invisible Children, and will continue to, I just do not agree with Kony and their goals. When I first saw the film Kony , I was inspired to act to save the people who were being affected by Joseph Kony.
I decided to research the organization to make sure they were worthy of my monetary and moral support. My conclusion after researching is, first of all; IC has questionable and unorganized finances according to their website. Not only that, but through the showing of Kony , IC manipulates the facts they present, which causes them to be perceived as untrustworthy.
In conclusion, although I fully agree that the people of Africa should have a better life; after my research, it is my opinion that Invisible Children is an unworthy organization to support. There will always be an organization that is not perfect or that will be criticized by the public. The problem is that Joseph Kony is no longer in Uganda. Jason Russell even confirmed it in Kony video. It may seem like a wasteful effort chasing someone who is no longer there, but as long as everyone remember that there is a criminal on the loose then one of I.
Kony maybe out of Uganda, but one of the important things is to remember that he is still out there. This organization is doing well on getting everyone to remember that Kony still lives. This is an organization despite their flaws in some areas that deserves some support and attention. They got my support. When I was in high school, four members from Invisible Children came to talk about the pressing issue in Uganda regarding the exploitation of children at the hands of Kony and the LRA.
I was skeptical at first because this organization was fairly new and concerns were raised pertaining to how effective this organization is with their finances.
However, after doing personal research about this organization, I found that their cause is honorable and that they should be given a chance because they are willing to take action and make a permanent difference for these children.
No child should have to suffer or ever be ignored when they are being exploited and robbed of their dignity which is why I support this organization. Like most people, after watching the Kony video for the first time, it left me with a sense of compassion and a desire to take action.
However, after doing a more thorough research on this NPO and it's ways of going about and solving Uganda's problem with Kony and the LRA, it would not be the best organization to invest time and money on. Where does all the money go? According to the Invisible Children's website, based on the financial statements, Personally, even based on this alone, I wouldn't donate to IC.
Nonetheless, it is ultimately your decision if this organization is worth supporting. Although Invisible Children has been and still is a successful non-profit organization, I feel that they may have missed some steps along the way.
Their mistakes as an organization has raised a huge question, do we see where all the money goes? They only became financially transparent upon demand to do so. A huge issue I have is with some information I came across during months of research.
I found that IC provided information via a spying operation to Ugandan authorities. This information was on the Museveni regime. The U. The Ugandan officials arrested the men involved and they were executed via death penalty. If I support IC do I now support the death penalty in foreign affairs my country should have no role in?
Invisible Children is an organization for a good cause. They may have some flaws, but the organization as a whole has good motives. I am sure that Invisible Children wants to have a positive relationship with the general public, and is doing all they can do within their power to make everyone happy.
However, the truth of the matter is that Invisible Children is a charity organization, and they cannot live up to that standard. If you have further questions please feel free to visit the Invisible Children website and click on the questions and answers page. I believe Invisible Children is an organization worth supporting. When I first saw the video Kony , I did not like the organization and what it stood for because I was evaluating the movie and not the organization itself.
As I researched the organization in depth my opinion of the motives of the organization changed. I looked at the bigger picture which is getting Kony noticed so that he is one step closer to being captured,and the abduction of children are put to rest. Invisible Children is a work in progress and there is always room for growth. I am aware that Invisible Children has questionable motives regarding the Kony video but Invisible Children is a growing organization that realizes their mistakes and are learning from them which was stated in the recent video "Move.
For this very reason I will consider supporting this organization. There is no other charity that has done more to support the end of the LRA conflict in the last 10 years. I've watched this organization's work since and also have been to N. The organization is not just about rehabilitation work they also spend money on Advocacy and Awareness and some have pointed this out as a problem but to me that is a nearsighted evaluation.
The political players that have the power to influence this conflict need to feel the pressure from the people so that is why advocacy campaigns are so important. CEO Ben Keesey claimed they did not expect the organization to last as long as it did and that their biggest regret is that their efforts never led to the capture of Joseph Kony. The aim of the transitional period was to transfer authority to partner groups, and they requested donations for this process.
He attributed the Obama era bill attempting to stop violence and the deployment of US forces in Uganda to his work and thus claimed the organization was not a failure at all and just needed to refocus. Keesey claimed the charity lost financial viability as the controversy stopped schools from hosting their events as their revenue dropped 81 percent from to They tried using grants and bigger donors but ultimately it was not enough even with severe staff cuts.
Keesey says they considered just telling the world they had accomplished their goals rather than that they were in a way failing and that there was still much work to be done. Keesey advocated for other NGOs to tell the truth and admit their mistakes.
Ultimately, Keesey and the other leaders agreed that work would be continued by a team of four people who themselves would ultimately hand over many of the programs by the end of to locals in Central Africa. This would be achieved via direct work with locals in violence prevention, family reunification, and conflict analysis. There is clear implication that safety should be a basic right, but that lack of government support and communication systems do not allow for this in many parts of Central Africa.
This differs a bit from pre Kony activism. It is more general and less reliant on one goal. It also places more focus on working directly with locals and providing them tools to build lasting change. A lack of means for justice, healing, and reconciliation prevents communities from moving forward. Invisible Children now focuses on the idea that behind every number and statistic is a real human being. They attribute 2, attacks, 8, abductions, and 3, deaths to the LRA in Uganda and beyond since A life free from violence and exploitation is seen as a real possibility and so the organization seeks to use local leaders and innovation to achieve this end.
Specifically, their methods include: crisis mapping and conflict analysis, early warning network, local peace committee development, escapee support and reunification, and media-based sensitization. The Invisible Children website is designed with numerous opportunities to donate in each section of the site. It also offers places to share the website. Some of the current goals include ending extreme isolation that leads to violence, reversing the depletion of endangered wildlife, and providing the most vulnerable with tools they need to develop resilience.
This will be accomplished through a variety of programs ranging from local peace committees, to media sensitization, scholarships, and outreach events. All of this helps show how the transition which began in led to a shift from awareness to action.
By Invisible Children received funds from a Texas Hedge fund and worked to supply civilians with radios to track rebel movements, working with the U. Before this, LRA murders and village raids often went unreported and there was no way to warn others they may be next. Thus, this helps citizens and the military to track movements. This also allows civilians to remain somewhat anonymous, to avoid revealing they are helping the military and risk becoming targets. The communications work also helped with personal interplay between citizens, thus benefiting them socially.
In the US and Ugandan forces ended their hunt for Kony. After just over a week, the German version had attracted over , views on YouTube , and generated a lot reactions: on social media, the claim has led to much hatred against IC just have a look at the reactions on YouTube to see how the video is understood.
But, what I want to defend is that when criticizing an organization or action, the organization and context need to be taken sufficiently serious; nuance and complexity should be key. Otherwise reporting mirrors the issues it wants to criticize, and ultimately harms the broader cause it claims to defend. South Africa introduces a new law which allows traditional leaders along with third parties to decide for communities, without their consent. We are not safe.
Further Reading Politics Between democracy and despotism William Shoki South Africa introduces a new law which allows traditional leaders along with third parties to decide for communities, without their consent. Politics Culture
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