Our group met this evening to discuss the direction of our new project with the Fund. Professor Tom Scialfa, our contact for the Fund here at Tulane, has provided the group with primary documents that will assist us in creating the content for the new website. At the meeting tonight, we agreed that all team members will have read all of these primary documents by our next meeting, Thursday November 1st. We have also appointed Lydia as our team contact person, and she will be communicating directly with Brandee Butler, our contact person for the Fund, with any questions or concerns our group has along the way.
Look for another update through our Meeting Minutes on Thursday!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Child Soldier Prevention Act 2007
The Child Soldier Prevention act was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sam Brownback (R-KS). Its goal is to prevent governments and government sponsored militias from recruiting or using child soldiers. Governments that are in violation of this act will only be eligible for military assistance to address the problem. The reason for this act is that the U.S. should not be providing assistance to countries that is used, in part, for the exploitation of children in armed conflict. A copy of the bill is listed below. For more information, go here:
Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and to condemn the conscription, forced recruitment or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities;
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and to condemn the conscription, forced recruitment or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities;
It is the sense of Congress--
(1) that the United States Government should support and, where practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end this abuse of human rights;
(2) that the United States Government should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their communities--
(3) that the United States should work with the international community, including, where appropriate, third country governments, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, United Nations agencies, local governments, labor unions, and private enterprise-(4) that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Defense should coordinate programs to achieve the goals specified in paragraph
(5), and in countries where the use of child soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is supported or sanctioned by the governments of such countries, United States diplomatic missions should include in their mission program plans a strategy to achieve the goals specified in such paragraph;
(6) that United States diplomatic missions in countries in which governments use or tolerate child soldiers should develop, as part of annual program planning, strategies to promote efforts to end this abuse of human rights; and
(7) that, in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to promote the end to this abuse of human rights.
(2) that the United States Government should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their communities--
(3) that the United States should work with the international community, including, where appropriate, third country governments, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, United Nations agencies, local governments, labor unions, and private enterprise-(4) that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Defense should coordinate programs to achieve the goals specified in paragraph
(5), and in countries where the use of child soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is supported or sanctioned by the governments of such countries, United States diplomatic missions should include in their mission program plans a strategy to achieve the goals specified in such paragraph;
(6) that United States diplomatic missions in countries in which governments use or tolerate child soldiers should develop, as part of annual program planning, strategies to promote efforts to end this abuse of human rights; and
(7) that, in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to promote the end to this abuse of human rights.
To ask your members of Congress to support the act, go to:
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Background Information on Uganda
For the past two decades northern Uganda (Acholiland) has been terrorized by civil war.
The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, is led by Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is thought to have special powers that he inherited from his pseudo-predecessor, Alice Lakwena. These powers give Kony immunity from bullets as well as give his organization some sense of legitimacy. Although, Kony describes the LRA as an organization that fights for the rights of the Acholi people, from the actions of the organizations it is difficult to believe this stance: It is from the Acholi people that Kony and his army kidnap new recruits and it is towards the Acholi people that most of the violent acts are directed.
These "new recruits" that the LRA kidnap are forced into membership of Kony’s movement. The male children become soldiers while the female children become "wives" of the Lord's Resistance Army leaders. Joseph Kony and his fellow LRA leaders force these children, as young as five, to kill their families or loved ones as initiation into the army. From there on out, the child soldiers are forced to take part in violent and bloody battles in order to increase the power and legitimacy of their leader. Many of the recruits are killed for not following through with orders or because they attempt to escape captivity. Those that remain in the LRA are brainwashed into becoming "true believers" of the LRA cause. If, somehow, a child escapes this horrible fate and returns to his or her hometown or family he or she is put in yet another awful situation. Former child soldiers are often not welcomed home, families and community members may not trust them or may even fear them. These children or young adults have other problems assimilating because of their missing education as well as because of the traumatic experiences in the army. Children that have luckily not been kidnapped into the army also face traumatic conditions. These children live in constant fear and many, like those filmed in "Invisible Children", travel every night to towns in order to feel safe from Kony's raiding parties.
Although there have been peace talks in the past, and in fact there are some peace talks underway currently, these have continuously failed to bring about the end to this horrific situation.
The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, is led by Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is thought to have special powers that he inherited from his pseudo-predecessor, Alice Lakwena. These powers give Kony immunity from bullets as well as give his organization some sense of legitimacy. Although, Kony describes the LRA as an organization that fights for the rights of the Acholi people, from the actions of the organizations it is difficult to believe this stance: It is from the Acholi people that Kony and his army kidnap new recruits and it is towards the Acholi people that most of the violent acts are directed.
These "new recruits" that the LRA kidnap are forced into membership of Kony’s movement. The male children become soldiers while the female children become "wives" of the Lord's Resistance Army leaders. Joseph Kony and his fellow LRA leaders force these children, as young as five, to kill their families or loved ones as initiation into the army. From there on out, the child soldiers are forced to take part in violent and bloody battles in order to increase the power and legitimacy of their leader. Many of the recruits are killed for not following through with orders or because they attempt to escape captivity. Those that remain in the LRA are brainwashed into becoming "true believers" of the LRA cause. If, somehow, a child escapes this horrible fate and returns to his or her hometown or family he or she is put in yet another awful situation. Former child soldiers are often not welcomed home, families and community members may not trust them or may even fear them. These children or young adults have other problems assimilating because of their missing education as well as because of the traumatic experiences in the army. Children that have luckily not been kidnapped into the army also face traumatic conditions. These children live in constant fear and many, like those filmed in "Invisible Children", travel every night to towns in order to feel safe from Kony's raiding parties.
Although there have been peace talks in the past, and in fact there are some peace talks underway currently, these have continuously failed to bring about the end to this horrific situation.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Invisible Children
The term Invisible Children primarily refers to Ugandan children attempting to escape abuduction. Rebel soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) often abduct children and train them as child soldiers. Thousands of children would silently flee their homes at night to avoid drafting into the LRA. Children usually trek great distances to cities like Gulu searching for shelter in places such as hospitals and bus parks far away from rebel camps.
The Invisble Children film is based on the experiences of three college students: Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole. The three students originally set off to Sudan to "find a story" but ended up in Northern Uganda. The documentary was filmed in 2003. The filmakers have started a non-profit organization known as Invisible Children Inc. to combat the problem.
For more information, you can visit the Invisble Children website at: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Fund for War-Affected Children and Youth in Northern Uganda
The main objective of the Fund for War-Affected Children and Youth is to help the youth in Uganda recover from war and rebuild their country. It is structured to provide financial resources to organizations that otherwise would have a difficult time accessing funding. The Fund was established in 2006 by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and several international donors and funding is currently at $2.7 million. The goal is to raise $25 million from governments, foundations, corporations, and individual donors and operate for at least 10 years. Currently, the charitable entity is based out of New York and is governed by a Board comprised of donors, local representatives, and experts in development and human rights in Africa. In addition, an advisory committee is soon to be established, consisting of people who will make recommendations to the Board. Local staff will oversee project implementation and work as project coordinators. At this point, the Fund is committed to supporting initiatives in the regions of Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader, and encourages evidence based programs which promote:
·access to education and income-generating activities for children and youth;
·access to traditional and formal forms of justice and truth-seeking;
·capacity building that would enable organizations to launch and sustain long-term projects; facilitate inter-institutional coordination and cooperation; and facilitate community participation, especially in regards to the reintegration of LRA returnees;
·access to services by under-served populations, especially those in remote camps for internally displaced persons; and
·the work of talented individuals and enterprising organizations, especially those that encourage entrepreneurship, in northern Uganda.
Information About Our New Project
We are excited to begin our new project with the Fund for War Affected Children in Uganda. This organization has a wonderful mission, but they are finding difficulty in raising awareness and alerting the international community about their cause. The Fund needs assistance in creating a central website, so our group has agreed to create an outline for this website. This outline will be proposed to the board of directors and will later be placed online.
Our goals for this project include:
1. Organize the given information regarding the Fund
2. Establish a unified mission and goal for the Fund
3. Format this information into a marketable as well as universally accessible website.
More updates will be posted as we progress in this endeavor.
-Jenny and Lindsay
Our goals for this project include:
1. Organize the given information regarding the Fund
2. Establish a unified mission and goal for the Fund
3. Format this information into a marketable as well as universally accessible website.
More updates will be posted as we progress in this endeavor.
-Jenny and Lindsay
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Project History and Updates
Our initial assignment was to work with the e-Health initiative in Rwanda. After communicating with our contact there, it became evident that time and communication would be an issue. After dicussing our options with our professors at Tulane, we decided that a change of project would be most appropriate.
Our next partnership with the Family Health International (FHI), was relatively short-lived. We were unable to successfully make contact with a project administrator and had to discontinue our affiliation with FHI. We again discussed our options with our professors, and chose to begin work with Kamali Fulgence, a journalist and radio personality in Rwanda.
Unfortunately, our current project with Kamali is likely to end. We would very much like to continue working with Kamali and her organizations, but we sincerely feel that our contributions to her projects would be minimal and would not satisfy our requirements for our course project. We wish her the best of luck.
We are currently discussing the possibility of working with The Fund in Uganda. We have been meeting with our newest professor, Dr. Scialfa, and will post more information as it comes in. For any questions, or for a more detailed description of our project history, please see our e-mail records, which are located in the right hand navigation bar of our blog.
Although we have encountered great difficulties in securing a partner organization for the course project, we have all managed to maintain a positive attitude and look forward to continuing our work within this course.
- Lydia and Lindsay
Our next partnership with the Family Health International (FHI), was relatively short-lived. We were unable to successfully make contact with a project administrator and had to discontinue our affiliation with FHI. We again discussed our options with our professors, and chose to begin work with Kamali Fulgence, a journalist and radio personality in Rwanda.
Unfortunately, our current project with Kamali is likely to end. We would very much like to continue working with Kamali and her organizations, but we sincerely feel that our contributions to her projects would be minimal and would not satisfy our requirements for our course project. We wish her the best of luck.
We are currently discussing the possibility of working with The Fund in Uganda. We have been meeting with our newest professor, Dr. Scialfa, and will post more information as it comes in. For any questions, or for a more detailed description of our project history, please see our e-mail records, which are located in the right hand navigation bar of our blog.
Although we have encountered great difficulties in securing a partner organization for the course project, we have all managed to maintain a positive attitude and look forward to continuing our work within this course.
- Lydia and Lindsay
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Third Times a Charm!
Hello all!!! On behalf of Caroline, Jackie, Jenny, Lindsay and Lydia, welcome to our blog and welcome to our project! We are eager to begin our project and are happy to announce that we will be working with our friend Kamali from Rwanda. Stay tuned for future posts. We will bring you more information as it comes in!!!
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