WARNING: Social Justice Post Follows

Update: The link to the news story is no longer valid. However, if you do a search for Uganda or the LRA, you will find plenty to read about this crisis. The Invisible Children link below and in my sidebar will also give you the story.

In honor of my friend Glyn at thoughtsbyglyn (you'll notice a tendency towards social justice on his blog,) I'm posting a link to a news story from AP today on the humanitarian crisis in Uganda. I became familiar with this issue last year when I watched a documentary called Invisible Children. Here is a quote from an Invisible Children Inc press release:

The start of Invisible Children came in 2003 when three naive filmmakers, from Southern California, flew to Africa in search of a story that would change the world. What they found was a situation in Northern Uganda that disgusted and inspired them. They documented their findings of a 20-year-long war where children are the weapons, and the victims. The result was a film called, Invisible Children: Rough Cut. After seeing the impact of their film worldwide, they formed the non-profit Invisible Children Inc.

The organization is dedicated to ending the war in Northern Uganda where children are abducted and forced to fight with the rebel army as child soldiers. For fear of being hunted by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), these children commute on foot every night to find safe places to sleep in their town centers. To date, more than 30,000 children have been abducted and forced into war. That's why Invisible Children is calling on the world to take a stand.

After reading the news story today, I went back to the Invisible Children website. Since I was last there, they have added quite a bit. One new thing is a bracelet you can buy which represents a specific Ugandan child. As soon as I finish this post, I'm surfing back over to buy one.

Each and every one of us has a decision to make whenever we come across information like this. I know that I feel connected with the Invisible Children movement and plan on doing something through them. Maybe you are contributing in some other way to any of a number of worthy causes. The purpose of today's post isn't to convince you to do something for the children in Uganda. No, the purpose of today's post is to share a story that might break your heart a little. It should. If your heart is broken a little over the life these children are leading, you will look at the world a little differently today.