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| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole, Jason Russell |
| Location | |
| Origins | San Diego, CA |
Area served | Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda |
Key people | Ben Keesey, Laren Poole, Jason Russell |
Revenue | $4,876,051 (2018)[1] |
| Website | invisiblechildren |
Invisible Children, Inc., founded in 2004, is an organization to increase awareness of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa, and its leader, Joseph Kony. Specifically, the group seeks to put an end to the practices of the LRA, which include abductions and abuse of children, and forcing them to serve as soldiers. To this end, Invisible Children urges the United States government to take military action in the central region of Africa. Invisible Children also operates as a charitable organization, soliciting donations and selling merchandise to raise money for its cause. The organization promotes its cause by dispensing films on the internet and presenting in high schools and colleges around the United States.
When the organization was founded, the LRA was active in Uganda. The rebel group left Uganda in 2006 and continues to operate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Invisible Children advocated for the passing of the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, a piece of legislation which led to the deployment of 100 combat-equipped US soldiers to the region for the purpose of advising the local forces in tracking and capturing Joseph Kony. The United Nations Security Council met in November of that year to discuss the LRA. Internationally, journalists began to seek more information about the conditions in Central Africa at that time.
The group has received both praise and criticism for its methods. While the organization's films have won several awards, its use of funds, projection of facts, and support of the SPLA and the Uganda People's Defence Force have come into question as these two groups have been known to commit similar atrocities to those blamed on the LRA. In March 2012, Invisible Children began an online video campaign called Kony 2012, the purpose being to promote the charity's 'Stop Kony' movement to make indicted Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony internationally known in order to arrest him in 2012.[2]
Invisible Children underwent restructuring in late 2014.[3] Foreign Policy in 2017 reported that Invisible Children had become closely connected with military operations, including intelligence gathering.[4]
- ^ "Invisible Children, Annual Report" (PDF). Invisible Children, Inc. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ Myers, Julia (March 7, 2012). "A call for justice". Kentucky Kernel. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.
- ^ "Invisible Children FAQ". invisiblechildren.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- ^ Herbert, David Gauvey. "Kony 2017: From Guerrilla Marketing to Guerrilla Warfare". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2019-10-04.