Title: “The World vs. Joseph Kony: Who is he, and why should he be stopped?”

Problem: Joseph Kony and his army, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army)

Chosen Audience/Genre: The people Los Angeles, California (Readers of the LA Times)

Roseanna Pileggi

Word Count: 1198

Joseph Kony vs. The World: Who

is he, and why should he be

stopped?

Above: A child soldier that was a victim of the LRA (The Lord’s Resistance Army), the army led by Joseph Kony.

Who is Joseph Kony and What is the LRA?

Oftentimes, when we turn on the news the

latest coverage of the war in the Middle East is on.

However, another war is going on that few people

know about. It is a war that has been causing

terror and suffering in the lives of children and

their families since the 1980’s. Last year you may

have heard about an event called “Kony 2012”

through the news, your social media sites, at work,

in school, or through the flyers posted around Los

Angeles and other neighboring cities. This was put

on by the movement known as Invisible Children,

that works to educate the world about the war

being led by Joseph Kony and the LRA (Lord’s

Resistance Army) throughout The Central African

Republic, the Congo, and South Sudan.

The

The war began as a movement known as

“The Holy Spirit Movement,” led by a Ugandan

native named Alice Lakwena. The group focused

on making alliances with rebel militias, hoping to

free Northern Uganda from governmental

oppression. At the time, Lakwena was part of the

Acholi tribe, who were consistently being

mistreated by this government. Despite her efforts

to end the corruption, she was eventually exiled

from Uganda, and a man named Joseph Kony took

over as her successor.

He then turned “The Holy Spirit

Movement” into the “Lord’s Resistance Army,”

hoping to overthrow the Ugandan president and

rule over his own state. However, he struggled

with maintaining the group’s regional support and

numbers and as a result, he began to abduct

children to strengthen his army. The boys were

trained to fight for the LRA, and were often forced

to kill their parents or siblings, while the girls

were abducted to be sex slaves. To avoid

abduction, hundreds of children embarked on

“night commutes,” in which they would walk to

the nearest city to seek shelter in schools,

churches, or bus depots. Unfortunately the

children did not always arrive to their destination

safely, and since the war started, over 30,000

children have fallen victim to the LRA.

Sunday, December 8th, 2013

Los Angeles Times

What was “Kony 2012?”

Invisible Children has led many efforts to

put an end to Joseph Kony’s reign of terror. They

have strived to raise global awareness of this issue

by means of social media, group efforts, and

international conventions. With enough support,

they hope to be able to stop Joseph Kony and help

the victims that have suffered under his

oppression.

Above: One of the many posters that were posted throughout cities worldwide during the Kony 2012 movement.

In 2012, Invisible Children released a

video named “Kony 2012” that told the story of

Joseph Kony and the LRA. They hoped that it

would make him a world-renowned criminal,

inspiring people to join the movement against

him. “Kony 2012” became the fastest growing

viral video of all time, resulting in millions of

people pledging to support efforts to arrest Kony.

I was part of the Invisible Children club in my

high school, and we also became involved in this

effort. Together, we shared the video on our social

media sites and went out and posted “Kony 2012”

flyers around our city. That night, I came home to

find that the effort had made it to the national

news, and at last, millions of people were learning

about Joseph Kony and what he was doing.

What Resulted From “Kony 2012?”

As people from around the world voiced

their concerns, the government’s soon realized

how much their people cared about this issue. As a

result, they began deploying troops to help the

effort. This international awareness has helped

reduce the numbers of the LRA significantly, from

about one thousand in 2008 to about three hundred

after “Kony 2012.” Joseph Kony may now be

weakened, but he has yet to be arrested and

because of this children are still being abducted.

According to the Invisible Children’s website,

there were ten abductions last month and six

returnees. The number of returnees has been

increasing, which is encouraging, and the war is

close to being over. It is time to come together

once more to end it.

So What Can We Do?

There are several ways that we can become

involved, whether it is to help the children directly

or to further weaken Kony and the LRA. Invisible

Children is currently collecting money so that they

can continue to build radio towers that warn

communities about an imminent LRA attack.

They are also collecting money to help fund

victims for their future, such as providing funding

for their education, counseling, medical expenses,

or rehabilitation from the trauma they suffered.

Donating to the cause and encouraging others to

donate can help a great deal. If 500 people were to

each donate ten dollars, that would raise enough

money for a returnee to receive all of the

rehabilitation and counseling services that they

would need. Los Angeles is a huge city, full of

celebrities, music producers, and organizations

that may be financially stable to help with this

cause. $5000 for one person is a price that is

unaffordable in Uganda, which is why it is so

important to help with this expense.

Not everyone is financially secure enough

to make a donation, and that is fine. There are

many other ways to contribute to this cause. We

still have the option of doing what we’ve done in

the past, with “Kony 2012.” Kony became famous

through the efforts of people from all different

cities and countries. This was one of those

situations where someone’s personal contribution

really did make a difference in the long run. I

helped my own city learn about Kony just as

others did in their cities, and it definitely wouldn’t

have happened without a joint effort.

The results of “Kony 2012” proved that

joint efforts are successful in getting not only our

government’s attention, but also the attention of

different governments from around the world. One

more group effort might be enough to enact social

change that will be strong enough to finally result

in his arrest and end this war. As citizens of Los

Angeles, we are at the advantage of living in a city

that is full of voices that are closely connected to

the media and broadcasting industries. It is more

likely that we will be heard here first, over a

smaller town or city

Below: The official logo for Invisible Children, an organization dedicated to rescuing the lives of those affected by Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Let’s take advantage of this, and start the chain of

events that will hopefully end this war.

I am starting an activism group here in Los

Angeles. We will be partnered with Invisible

Children, and will start by approaching the news

outlets throughout the city. If you wish to become

a part of this, simply contact me via the

information below. More information on how we

will do this will be given at our first meeting.

How Can I Contact Invisible Children?

You can reach Invisible Children by

phone, email, mail, through their website, or by

walking in. Here is their contact information,

along with mine if you are interested in joining the

Los Angeles activist group or donating.

Telephone Number: (619) 562-2799

Email (IC): info@invisiblechildren.com

Email (Mine): johnsmith@yahoo.com

Address: 1600 National Ave San Diego, CA 92113

Website: www.invisiblechildren.com