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I HAVE to tell you that I am so excited, so very excited about the outcome of the RESCUE event that took place on Saturday, April, 25th, for Invisible Children. You may recall that I recently told you about the event and why it was so important.
Invisible Children is an organization determined to help the thousands and thousands of abducted children in Northern Uganda and The Congo, who are taken from their homes at young ages, desensitized to violence by witnessing horrendous beatings and killings, and then forced to fight as child soldiers for a terrorist, Joseph Kony.
Invisible Children decided that it is time that Joseph Kony is captured and arrested and his child soldiers are freed. So they organized an event called The RESCUE, where thousands and thousands of people gathered in over 90 cities all over the world to abduct themselves to bring media, political and cultural attention to the longest running war in Africa and to the situation affecting the 30,000 abducted child soldiers.
On April 25, 2009, I was a part of this incredible event in Denver.
We gathered at the state capitol and then walked for a couple of miles in a single file line, holding a rope, just as the abducted children are forced to do. Finally arriving at a nearby park, we set up our sleeping bags and blankets, wrote letters to our senators asking them to rescue the child soldiers in Africa, and waited for a political or cultural figure to come out and rescue us by pledging their support to do something about the situation in Northern Uganda and The Congo.
Here is a little video montage I made of the event in Denver. 1500 people showed up in Denver, for the RESCUE! 1500!!!!
We were rescued by a representative from Senator Udall’s office at around 9:30 P.M. The majority of the cities in the U.S. were also rescued Saturday evening. But there were several cities that by Monday had not been rescued yet.
Yesterday, there was still one city left, waiting to be rescued, Chicago. Since Saturday, many had been going from location to location in Chicago, even in the middle of downpours, waiting to be rescued and spreading the word about the child soldiers.
Many Invisible Children staff members and volunteers drove from all over the country, to join the group in Chicago. Deciding that they TRULY needed to do something spectacular in Chicago, to get attention, they came up with a choreographed version of the song, “In the Name of Love.” They rehearsed it several times before heading outside of OPRAH’S STUDIOS to sing it to her, asking her to rescue them.
Here is a video of all 500 of them rehearsing “In the Name of Love.” It will give you goosebumps.
As they sang in front of her offices and then studio, Oprah’s staff members came out and watched, proud of them. But there was no sign of Oprah. Soon they were told by Chicago police that it was time to leave, they were trespassing on private property.
Determined, they showed up again this morning, and what happened next, was incredible. Oprah came out, handed out cupcakes, found the 3 filmmakers of the Invisible Children film who are also the founders of the Invisible Children organization and brought them into her studio. She modified her show schedule around and today INVISIBLE CHILDREN will be on the beginning segment of OPRAH!
She will rescue Chicago and share the story of the child soldiers, today, on her show. So, if you are able to, tune in. You will NOT want to miss it. 🙂
I am so proud to have been a part of such an incredible event. I KNOW that what we did will make a difference and I can not wait to see the outcome of this event.
There is also the Lobby Day event planned in June where Invisible Children staff and volunteers will head to D.C., take part in symposiums, hand out thousands of letters written to senators during the RESCUE event and spread the message that “the time for peace is now, and this is how it ends. The program will include lobbying trainings, VIP speakers, a kick-off rally and will culminate in an unprecedented outpouring of activism on Capitol Hill, with hundreds of meetings taking place between Members of Congress and their constituents.” I WOULD LOVE TO ATTEND and hope to save up the money to do so.
Please let me know if you are able to watch the Oprah telecast today.
RESCUE group in L.A. (5,000 showed up and were rescued by a host of celebrities including Kristen Bell, Ben McKenzie, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Arnold)
RESCUE group in D.C.
RESCUE in New York
halalandharam says
there is another side to the IC campaign, especially in International Development
http://halalandharam.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/to-be-saved/
Stephanie says
AWESOME. I’m so glad Oprah picked up this story. It’s an important cause. All of these recent 5M4M posts about international causes have really got me thinking about how blessed we are here in the USA…and I’ve been brainstorming more ways that I can do my small part to make the world a better place. I thank you for that important reminder.
Beth/Mom2TwoVikings says
I’m coming into this late and I think the cause is amazing but my stomach is queasy thinking about leading kids to ask Oprah (or other celebrities) to rescue them. *ugh* Not a fan of Oprah and wouldn’t want the Vikings emulating her or her beliefs.
Just my opinion…please don’t flame.
Aimoree says
Ahh- this is so, so cool! I saw the IC on Oprah clip on Youtube and was SO excited! I was also at the event at Denver and loved your video montage- what a great evening!!!! I honestly cannot wait to do this again- it is such an empowering experience!
Rachelle S. says
This is incredible! I am in bed sick today, so I’ll definately be watching Oprah! Thanks for spreading the word!
William Hamilton says
A commendable effort. If you see any of the campers from Charleston, give them my best wishes.
Anita says
Saw them tweet about getting rescued, so I have my DVR set to record Oprah! I love that they were able to get it accomplished! I would have been at the SF event, but I thought giving everyone my flu would be a bad idea, so I just donated to IC again instead.
Alaina says
That is simply amazing…can’t wait to see Oprah!
Laura Bray says
I was one of the 500 in Fresno CA! This is beyond awesome! Thanks for the post!
The Gang's Momma says
Not a huge fan of Oprah, but I will watch today. Thanks for the heads up. I’m posting this on my Facebook page too.
And fyi, I blogged a letter to Oprah several weeks ago, and mentioned 5MFM in it. 🙂 🙂
Robyn (3GirlsMom) says
SWEET.
Just set my TiVo to record it.
Nice work.