On March 5th, 2012 an organization based out of San Diego, California launced a huge marketing campaign on a international criminal known as Jospeh Kony. This organization is Invisible Children which started in 2003. Until now Invisible Children have been largely unknown and underground throughout the world. Recently, the video has spread like wildfire and has became the talk of teenagers and adults from all corners of the world.
The 30-minute video is known as Kony 2012. The Kony 2012 video is informative and persuasive while exposing Joseph Kony and his crimes against humanity. This video particularly has struck a nerve with the youth of America which in turn resulted in millions of views within days and has broken records on YouTube. With all the attention, critics have begun to call into question many of the problems with the initial video. Although, many of the flaws have been not only been answered but clarified. Not to mention, Charity Navigator and Time Magazine have praised the organization for their work.
In the Bethel Park community, Lauren O’Brien, a Junior at Bethel Park High School has made incredible strives to not only serve her community but to help Invisible Children raise money and awareness. I recently decided to interview her about Invisible Children and her involvement.
Jake: “When and why did you first get involved with Invisible Children?”
Lauren: “I got involved with Invisible Children about a year through Saint Joan of Arc’s Youth group. SJA held an event where a speaker from Uganda came in and one of Invisible Children’s documentaries was shown. Despite not being in attendance of this event, the raving reviews from my fellow youth made me intrigued about the organization. I did some supplementary research and was hooked.”
Jake: “What type of fundraising have you done?”
Lauren: “I’ve been involved with many types of fundraising. I started fundraising the second I found out about the organization. I first took part in the organization’s 25 hour Day of Silence to mark 25 years of war and was sponsored hourly. Next, I began selling Sarris chocolate bars and chocolate covered pretzels. I’ve sold over 4,500 bars. I also made events such as dances, movie nights, and the concession stands at SGA’s two dodge-ball tournaments. I worked at Simmon’s Park concession stand for about two months and used my earnings toward the cause. I have sold chocolate at dance competitions, churches, and door to door. I also had a few members stay with me in the summer and once again speak at my church.”
Jake: “How much money have you raised?”
Lauren: “I have raised about $5,400 dollars. My goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of 2012.”
Jake: “Where does all the money go?”
Lauren: “Currently, the money goes to Invisible Children’s newest project, The Protection Plan. The Protection Plan focuses on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Southern Sudan. The money goes towards building watch towers, creating an early warning radio network throughout the three countries, other warning systems such as flags, educating local communities on such, encouraging peaceful LRA surrenders, funding search and rescue teams, and building hospitals/rehabilitation centers for victims so that they can survive injuries and prosper despite traumas.”
Jake: “What are your thoughts on the Kony 2012 video?”
Lauren: “At first I was semi-disappointed in the video, ONLY because I felt it was weak in comparison to their plethora of other films. I thought to myself: this should not be the video representing the organization considering the lack of information and abundance of propaganda. At the end of the day, I was happy with it, because it got people involved, it did its job. Invisible Children is wonderful at making their films and is constantly uploading videos that provide a constant stream of information for anyone who searches for it. I am overjoyed with the success of the video and overall happy with the product.”
Jake: “How has reception of the video been throughout the community?”
Lauren: “I would say there definitely has been mixed reviews, from all extremes. I have had threatening messages as well praise from people in the community. Complete strangers have felt the need to tell me how they feel about my life choices. What I’ve realized is most of the people with discouraging commentary are naive or misinformed. Once Time Magazine came out with the article speaking about the critics of IC, I think a lot of people shut their mouths and researched instead of pretending to be an authority on something they knew little to nothing about. I was speaking to my friend, Alex Alberico, a representative of IC (currently apart of the street team), on the phone last week and he told me that a surprising 92% of people interviewed saw Invisible Children in a positive light.”
Jake: “What are your plans for the future?”
Lauren: “I will be selling concession at more SGA events to come. Other events to look forward to from me include: a spaghetti dinner, a garage sale, a battle of the bands, more movie nights and dances, and my biggest project, a video game competition. I’m always looking for donations and constantly selling Sarris. If anyone ever wants to order from me, I make deliveries on purchases of at least $10. As for my involvement with the organization, after I raise this $10,000, I would like to intern with the organization. I would like to travel to Central Africa, hopefully the most dangerous area such as D.R. Congo, where I sponsor a child (Lulendo Binja) monthly through World Visions. Ideally, I would like to work for either the foundation’s corporate office in San Diego or Uganda, but if not I will always support IC. I one day would like to manage a non-profit organization. If anyone would like to contact me about help, questions, donations or chocolate sales, my digits are:412-726-8985 and my email address is [email protected].”
A special thanks to Lauren for her cooperation and insight!
A brand new Invisible Children video was recently released on Thursday April, 5th 2012.
Sources:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1359
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/03/invisible-childrens-kony-2012-sequel-to-premiere-this-week/