The Hague Has Kony's Name On It

The Hague: the capital city of the province of South Holland in Netherlands. Home of the International Criminal Court AKA the ICC. These guys aren't with the UN, but they're still considered very good at policing international crime. 

The first man that was ever put on their list of criminals is named Joseph Kony: the one that no one seems to care about.

His crime: abducting children in Central and Eastern Africa to fuel the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) he runs. He transforms the boys into killing machines and the girls into sex slaves. These children have no choice but to obey for fear of their lives. These kids end up murdering their parents, because no one in the whole wide world ever gave a care: until now.

Actually... it's been about 9 years since Invisible Children (a group of people focused on bringing Kony down) started to raise awareness and help fight Kony. Recently, President Obama sent 100 military advisers to Uganda serve justice once and for all.

Here's the issue: Invisible Children is a non-profit organization that fundraises money to help the cause. (Recently, they've built radio towers to alert remote villages if the LRA has been spotted. This not only saves families- it saves lives.)But... there's speculation as to how much money actually goes into the cause. According to stats, only 32% of the fundraised 8 million dollars last year, made it to Uganda. That is where people stop reading the article. The thing they then fail to see is: the other 66% goes to two other things: awareness products and programs, and it also helps go to Central African programs (like the ICBC or Schools for Schools etc.) 

 Don't trust me? See for yourself: [Click on the picture if you cannot read the fine print.]

So no, I'm not concerned whether I'm supporting a group that doesn't really care about what they're doing. Three, middle-class, white guys devoting their lives to this cause until it's over: I think "passion" is an understatement. 

If you want to help this cause, watch this video to learn more. It is probably the best way you can use your time if you're reading this blog: I would rather you watch this video right now then read the rest of the blog- it's that important. It's okay though: I'm ending the blog with one last thing to say:

Are you willing to fight for this cause: "Where you live SHOULD NOT determine whether you live" 

I know I am.  

Want to learn more about the ICC? Go here:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/About+the+Court/
Want to learn more about Invisible Children and how to help? Visit this website:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

Go. Make change. It's the best feeling in the world (trust me).