Valentine's Day is only 13 days away!
So, what do you want from your sweetheart?Can I tell you what I want?
About 4 years ago I first watched the Invisible Children video and found myself challenged and changed. Since then, the thousands of children abducted by Joseph Kony and his Rebel army, terrorizing northern Uganda, have haunted me. I find it hard to process that young boys the age of my oldest son (4) are being kidnapped and forced to shoot other children with AK47s, bite them to death, maim them, burn families, etc. so that the Rebel army can maintain power over the Ugandan government.
Within the past few months I found an update video at http://nightof.therescue.invisiblechildren.com/ and began following the Invisible Children blog at www.invisiblechildren.com.So, for Valentine's Day this year I want sticky glitter cards from my kids, a ring from my hubby, and 3,000+ Ugandan children set free from the Rebel Army.
(Ok, and maybe another Ugandan necklace made by Ugandan women http://store.lightgivesheat.org/suubi/2009-collection.html, or a handbag made by Ugandan mothers http://store.invisiblechildren.com/mendbags.)
How can we free the Child Soldiers?
Read below:
Dr. No, please say yes
The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, if passed, requires that President Obama form a plan for apprehending Joseph Kony and neutralizing the Lord’s Resistance Army. It also assigns funds to help rebuild the northern region of Uganda where Joseph Kony has been taking lives, abducting children, and forcing thousands of people out of their villages into displacement camps for over 20 years.
This bill has made history by being the most widely-supported bill in 35 years that is concerned with sub-Saharan Africa. The bill currently has 56 co-sponsors in the Senate, with supporters from both parties proving that this is truly a bi-partisan priority.
One man stands in the way of this bill’s passage: Senator Coburn (R-OK), or as he is known around these parts, “Dr. No.”
Senator Coburn opposes the bill because of the $40 million that it allocates to rebuilding Northern Uganda where the LRA has left a trail of displaced people and broken infrastructure. He argues that America is already enough in debt without sending aid to Northern Uganda. We are all about principles, but we must protest that this bill is asking for relatively little money and we have confidence that the money will prevent higher costs in the future.
In truth, $40 million is a drop in the ocean of U.S. foreign aid. To put $40 million in perspective, Senator Coburn recently voted to increase the HIV/AIDS spending by $35 billion. That is nearly 1,000 times the budget that we are asking for.
This past year, Joseph Kony killed about 2,000 people and abducted 3,000. Hundreds of those were children. By apprehending Kony we will be ending the war and our rebuilding efforts will be long lasting. It will remove the cause of the instability in Northern Uganda as well southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. The money will immediately start saving lives but will also save money in the long run by decreasing the need for future American humanitarian aid in Uganda.
We express our gratitude to the 800 Oklahomans that spent the night outside of Senator Coburns office last April during the Rescue. We thank the 16 Oklahomans who flew to Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver letters from participants of the Rescue to Senator Coburn. And, finally, we appreciate the 20 Oklahomans who marched in Oklahoma City last November before meeting with Senator Coburn’s office and asking for his support yet again.
With the help of many of you, we have put the pressure on Senator Coburn to support this bill. Yet his mind remains unchanged.
We say it’s time to turn up the heat and wear down his defenses. And we have a plan. Go to www.coburnsayyes.com and read about how you can take action. You’ll see that some ways include writing letters, signing a petition, calling Senator Coburn’s office, and showing up at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building at the end of February. We’ve got to change this man’s mind, and we need your help.
The Invisible Children Organization has already made such a difference, and now we can be a part of that! Surely if this was happening in America, the terrorist would not have gone unpunished for 20+ years. So, why is it allowed in Uganda??
Let's show our strong government how important the children of the world are to Americans!
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