2008 Woodie Awards
Trying to make the invisible, visible
Jordan Crook/RHA Reporter
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News
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The Family and Consumer Sciences instructor did so by showing one of her classes a 2001 film of the devastation children are experiencing in Uganda.
Thousands of Ugandan children "night commute," making the arduous journey across the perilous countryside every night to escape an even greater danger.
This journey is necessary for the children to avoid abduction, rape or murder by the Lord's Resistance Army, which is currently embroiled in civil war with the Ugandan government.
Led by Joseph Kony, the LRA has abducted more than 20,000 children and brainwashed them into fighting the Ugandan army in an attempt to overthrow the current government and replace it with a theocracy devoted to Christianity.
This war has raged in northern Uganda for the past 20 years and has crippled the country's educational system and destroyed many homes and families.
Three film students from California witnessed firsthand the devastation created by the LRA and made a documentary about the situation, called "Invisible Children."
The horrors Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey saw inspired them help the people of Uganda.
The Invisible Children movement was founded.
Matt Wood, Invisible Children regional manager for the Great Lakes and New England areas, said the documentary made by the group's founders is one of the organization's greatest recruiting tools.
"After people see the movie, they're like 'What can we do to change this?'" he said.
Wood said many students who decide to get involved do so because of instructors like Puricelli.
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