ALEXA ORTIZ – Features Editor

The story of Invisible Children (IC) began in 2003, when three young filmmakers traveled to East Africa and filmed a documentary, Invisible Children: The Rough Cut, about the ongoing civil war and child soldier phenomenon in northern Uganda.

Upon showing this documentary in the United States, the story of the child soldiers sparked a youth-oriented grassroots movement driven by the desire to transform apathy into activism. This movement led to the establishment of Invisible Children, Inc. in 2005.

IC’s programs include educational and micro economic initiatives in Central Africa benefitting over 11,000 people as well as biannual tours, awareness events, and fundraising campaigns stateside. Recently, IC has expanded its operations to Central Africa to address the plight of the most recent victims of the LRA’s reign of terror who live in some of the most remote regions of the world.

As stated by charitynavigtor.org, IC has had their company tested for both their accountability and financial score on whether their organization can be depended on and trusted. They are rated three out of four stars for their accuracy. They provide certain movements for people all throughout the world.

Unlike any other initiative at Invisible Children, their big events have a way of bringing it all together. They simultaneously appeal to our government, educate supporters, and bring together a group of people dedicated to making a difference.

Many people may criticize Invisible Children because they believe it may be a “scam.” They also feel as though we should not be involved in other countries’ problems when we should be fixing our own. But who is to judge and not save someone else? If this were happening in our country, it would spread like wild fire, and everyone would want someone to help and get involved.

Through power in numbers and strength in community, they shed light on situations that merit attention and inspire action that changes culture, policy, and lives. In northern Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army was active for more than two decades. It has left Uganda, but the region will be in recovery for years to come.

Lilia Chavero, Views Editor & Rafael Alejo, Contributing Writer

People are exposed to a lot of real and fake news when it comes to showing how bad a situation is. As many have already heard from the news, Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites, Invisible Children Inc., a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to bring awareness to the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa, had started a Kony 2012 campaign to promote and stop Joseph Kony’s terrible crimes and get him incarcerated by December 2012.

It’s so kind that we have people helping these kids in Uganda, but wouldn’t you want to know where your money is actually being used for?

It is absurd that Invisible Children is reported to only use 32% of their donations to aid in the Ugandan dilemma. Invisible Children falls below the standard of charities, who regularly at least gives 70% of donations to their cause. The company will not allow to be audited which means to evaluate the organization. Sounds pretty suspicious, doesn’t it? Invisible Children admits it spends more on travel expenses and to fund this filmmaking business than to help anyone at all.

The United States is going through an oil crisis and has been in the last year had to dip into the natural reserve which is estimated to only contain enough oil to last the U.S. less than five years without foreign import. Uganda is an oil rich country and the U.S. is using Invisible Children to send troops to Uganda. The U.S. uses the excuse that the 100 U.S. troops are to aid the Ugandan military in the capture of Joseph Kony when the LRA hasn’t been in Uganda since 2006.

The people that view a video on YouTube and think that liking it will put an end to Joseph Kony’s “continuing” aggressions are misguided, misinformed and most likely won’t help. Those that are in love with Invisible Children’s cause, what will happen when Kony is caught? After that what will the matter of the cause be? Invisible Children Inc. message has been called “a manipulation of facts for strategic purposes by foreign affairs.” The video that portrays Jason Russell as a great dad that doesn’t want his unfairly adorable son to grow up in a world with Kony makes the resolution to this “problem” overly simplistic.