Kony 2012, Awareness, and THARCE-Gulu

Monday night, I checked my Twitter feed before bed, per usual, and like anyone & everyone else on Twitter that night... I saw Joseph Kony, Stop Kony, Kony 2012, LRA, Uganda, Gulu, and child soldiers hash tagged, all trending worldwide on Twitter and my heart skipped a beat.

You see, for the last three years, all of those subjects have been on my mind daily, as I have worked with my mother and our start-up team of our NGO, www.THARCEGulu.org, or Trauma, Healing and Reflection Center for former child soldiers and victims of Joseph Kony and his rebel group the LRA or Lords Resistance Army in Gulu, Northern Uganda.

Efforts to raise awareness and donations for our NGO, THARCE, which provides non-medical integrative therapies to these victims who are of the Acholi community in Gulu have been successful and awe-inspiring, as my social media following showed up for the last two years on my birthday for Tonic.com and Crowdrise campaigns.

I blasted Twitter and Facebook and every Oprah, P. Diddy, Beiber and Kardashian with tweets and messages about our cause and was extremely moved by the support, curiosity and involvement of fans and friends. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, my Whedon-Buffyverse comrades, Alyssa Milano, George Lopez, fellow Bostonian Mike Chiklis and many others donated and "re-tweeted" for THARCE-Gulu.

There was new awareness, but we certainly hadn't moved the needle the way Invisible Children did this past Monday night. I have met Jason Russell and fellow actress Kristen Bell over the years and we have shared our passion for Gulu and the Acholi people devastated by Joseph Kony and the LRA. I believe they have honest and true intentions, in spite of some of the negative press that has since exploded on the Web about Kony 2012. And, they have trail-blazed in the area that we hadn't quite been able to cover, creating a worldwide awareness through social media and young people, making Joseph Kony a virtual celebrity almost overnight.

This heightened awareness of the 26-year trail of wreckage left by Kony is a good thing. And now, more than ever before, countless people are asking how to help the victims and not only how to help catch Kony.

This is what matters most to me: 30,000 child mothers and fathers, now raising children that came from rape in the bush, make northern Uganda one of the most traumatized places on earth. There is crushing poverty, terrible PTSD, and unbelievably high suicide rates. Traditions, the bonds of family and community, were all compromised by years of captivity and then IDP camps enforced by the Museveni government. The issues are not simple. There are many additional good NGOs working to help the people of Uganda recover.

The Trauma Healing and Reflection Center in Gulu, or THARCE-Gulu is one such NGO. Gulu was the epicenter of Kony's war in Uganda. THARCE-Gulu includes on its staff two former child soldiers who have risen from "victim" to "survivor" then "thriver." They are assisting others to rebuild their lives. Programs to assist with earning a living, developing everyday coping skills, building strong families, and finding ways to creatively express their experiences and take from them their terror, are all part of what THARCE does.

My mother Judy Dushku, a 40+ year African politics professor and historian, is our fearless president, and a number of our family members and close friends, including my boyfriend Rick Fox make up the board and we travel to Gulu to work closely with our staff on the ground. We have done some extraordinary and powerful work over the last three years and have numerous ambitious goals for the future.

You are invited to go to the website www.tharcegulu.org and contribute today. Augment what Invisible Children is doing -- reach out to those who are courageously rebuilding northern Uganda. Click on the "Donate" button on the website and use your PayPal account or to make a credit card donation. Donations by checks made to THARCE-Gulu, Inc. may be sent to Gulu (P.O. Box 261, Gulu, Uganda) or to Boston (P.O. Box 52557, Boston, MA 02205).

While the hunt for Kony goes on, the people in Gulu desperately need your help now. It might go without saying, but please "retweet" and "share" this piece.

 

Comments

[Faileph Kony]

12:32 AM on 03/13/2012

I guess there is a college kid who really wanted to make a difference rather than just reposting videos and pictures about kony. He wen't ahead and contacted some organizations and asked them to donate to the cause for every lead he generated. He just made a simple blog with very little information but it was painless to make a money free donation. I doubt it generates much, but every penny counts. http://supportkony2012.wordpress.co­­m

[ColoradoAchilles]

01:05 PM on 03/12/2012

In fact, many were opposed getting involved in any capacity at all. There was a poll right here on MSNBC showing half of those voting were against US action in this cause. There doesn't need to be "more awareness." After watching this video, are you going to give up everything to go to Uganda to help find the guy or to help the kids there? No, you're not. You're to going remain here in your comfortable life in the western civilized world, continuing to share these kinds of videos on your ipad because you think that means you're a passionate supporter of the cause and you're going to make a difference. The people who need to be aware of this guy, the governments, agencys, etc. trying to find him have had the guy on their radar for years. We saw how long it took to get Bid Laden. There's was no social media campaign 'spreading awareness" to help capture him, was there? You're doing nothing to "support" this cause by just spreading a video. If you're dumb enough to donate, you're money isn't helping anyone. But alas, you now have a bracelet you can wear to show how much you "support" this new cause you just found out about yesterday. People only want to "support" something when they have some sort of medal of honor they can show off to give off the illusion they care passionately about something.

[ColoradoAchilles]

01:04 PM on 03/12/2012

You people watch one video, and suddenly you're an expert and want to blindly support something because the internet told you to and it's the current trendy thing to do. A week from now, you won't care. You'll wait til the next trendy cause comes a long. I don' t see any giant social media campaigns trying to get people to help the towns that were wiped off the map by the tornadoes last week. OUR OWN PEOPLE NEED OUR HELP. That's a cause you can directly impact. But you'd get no recognition on the internet for that. 50 million people have watched the KONY video. 50 million people that won't do anything. Imagine if just half those people instead of showing fake interest in this fad instead went out to your community, helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity, helped out at the local soup kitchen, donated to causes where your aid will help those in need directly. But alas, facebook didn't tell you to do that. Instead you'd rather give money to help make video's and pay those making the videos a nearly 6 figure salary."

[fencerman]

12:13 PM on 03/12/2012

Thanks for this. The list of issues facing that region are considerable - and not just the trauma of the conflict itself. Addressing the trauma of the victims is one important way outsiders to these conflicts can lend a helping.

The Musveni government has a lot of serious human rights issues that need to be addressed over time - democracy in that country is still a work in progress. The political and armed forces leadership have their share of crimes to address.

The government has gone to greater lengths than almost any other country in the world to criminalize homosexuality, already punishing homosexuality with life imprisonment, and has been considering a bill that would increase that to the death penalty, not to mention media campaigns outing homosexual people and subjecting them to violence and threats.

There is also the major health issue, the mysterious "nodding disease" affecting parts of Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodding_disease - the cause isn't yet known, and the disease is debilitating and fatal to children between 5 and 15. Poor healthcare in the Gulu region is only making the spread of the disease worse.

[TonyaJ]

11:41 PM on 03/11/2012

Beautiful blog, Eliza. Do your best to ignore the negativity on Twitter and elsewhere. Even though Invisible Children has done what in the past has seemed impossible, to arouse interest in what is going on in Uganda, the Sudan and Congo, that does not mean other organizations are not doing great and meaningful work, so I appreciate the reminder about your's/your mother's organization, THARCEgulu.org . I'm glad you are not joining the bashing of IC. Well, why would you. I've always known you were a person of integrity. Yes, the issues involved are complex, but as I posted on Twitter earlier today: "At this point I don't care if IC are Evangelical Xtians or Red Lectroids from the 8th Dimension if they help kids/Uganda/Congo."

[TonyaJ]

12:07 AM on 03/12/2012

Sorry, I left something out in my initial statement. I meant to say that IC generating the huge interest and response that it has in the last several days, in the past seemed impossible.

[bayside]

06:24 PM on 03/11/2012

All of these ministries – the Discovery Institute, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, The Fellowship Foundation, The Call, Ed Silvoso’s Harvest Evangelism, and Invisible Children – received at least $100,000 in 2008 from what has emerged in the last decade as the biggest funder of the hard, antigay, creationist Christian right: the National Christian Foundation
This group was in the forefront of the horrible anti gay bill in uganda.............

[bayside]

05:51 PM on 03/11/2012

The same thing is going on in sudan. Watch machinegun preacher to learn about it. They are doing the same thing to those children,forcing them to shoot the parents, raping them and forcing them into soldiers..This preacher has build a home for orphans to help them. He is trying so hard to help them..

[raymando]

03:29 AM on 03/11/2012

I don't see the big deal about this Kony fellow. If you are a child in a war zone you are going to get involved in the conflict. You are better off with a gun in your hands than one pointed at you. Joseph Kony is hardly a villain and attacking him won't change anything. If you stop the war then you will stop the child soldiers and atrocities against children. Otherwise this is just another vanity project.

[EZWriter69]

03:00 PM on 03/11/2012

Is that you Rush? Why are you calling yourself Ray? No one else could have this preposterous opinion, so it must be you. Joseph Kony is hardly a villain? Really? You're a minority of one on that opinion, Rush...

[thewestyard]

03:02 AM on 03/11/2012

15 years too late we till looking for the guy we get him soon

[Winston Kiva]

12:56 AM on 03/11/2012

When I read about Kony2012, my first thoughts were about those activists who've labored for years and have never received such a bump in public awareness. Movements that want to reduce violence in Africa all deserve a big moment in the sun, and hopefully, the good will created by Invisible Children will result in something positive all around. Before reading this article, I'd never heard of www.tharcegulu.org, and I'll go over there right now and check it out.

[Hellz Angel]

10:51 PM on 03/11/2012

This is the most intelligent (least cynical) comment I read in this thread. I'll donate to Dushku's charity when I have the money--I know enough about her through her previous postings here on HuffPo to trust that the funds are wisely used.

[patililac]

11:48 PM on 03/10/2012

Hmmm..Kony has only a couple hundred followers (slaves?) these days. Where was all of the indignation when he had thousands? There are a lot more pressing problems such as starvation in this country now...

[nootrope]

09:44 PM on 03/10/2012

Be wary of this "charity." It appears to be an evangelical fundie christian stealth campaign to spread christianity and to make military inroads into Uganda for oil.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/07/1072266/-Do-NOT-Donate-to-Kony-2012-

[vjojobear]

05:51 PM on 03/11/2012

Well, we all know who you follow. Maybe they can surgically remove your head from Kony's a*s. Or from your own.

[nootrope]

08:59 PM on 03/11/2012

Haha, sure.

Oil found in Uganda - LET'S GET KONY!!!

[Dr Danno]

09:35 PM on 03/10/2012

Thank you for your NGO and even more for your compassion for the hurting folks in our commonly inhabited world. We are one humanity, with joy and pain in common.

[pciorlandosales]

06:56 PM on 03/10/2012

Here we go again! With plea's to go and fight someone else's battles. I do not mean to sound heartless but when did someone do a documentary that 1 out 7 children under the age of 3 in America are homeless? We rush to the causes of others far away but neglect our own. It's a major reason why we are in the economic situation we are in today. Wake Up America! Before you go rushing to a cause far and away (regardless of it's dramatic need) help your own people.

[D-Squared]

02:22 PM on 03/11/2012

You raise a good point...this smacks of neo-colonism and Kipling's White Man's Burden. Let Africa deal with Africa's problems.

I do have an issue with the homeless statistic you cite above. Do ou have any supporting data. That homeless statistic sounds way too high to me.

[pciorlandosales]

03:13 PM on 03/12/2012

Dateline did a piece on the subject. They spoke to a number of homeless families in Florida. The stat they gave was achieved by polling schools across America. As I am sure you must know, pupils are required to have an emergency contact number and an address on file. The information was achieved by the number of students that had a homeless shelter listed or where just listed as homeless.

[eleanor53]

07:00 AM on 03/13/2012

Pviolandosales, I could not have said it better. Charity starts at home.

[sporttrac]

05:40 PM on 03/10/2012

I believe the people that started the "invisible children" had an idea that took a different approach and 59 million plus responded to it. Its not a better than but an addition too...it worked and to keep the momentum going we must support the vision with our own. If we become bitter or envy because one has done great work and had not gotten the results they wanted or what invisible children got in such a short time of only 4 days, then we hinder progress. To say it got huge response in a short time shouldn't imply something is wrong with it...must be ??? As for donating to any other agencies that help Uganda, it comes with a reservation, how do i trust those who don't trust "invisible children" whom I supported...whose to believe. Concise may not be my strong point but hopefully i got my message across.

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

06:52 AM on 03/11/2012

Might want to look into these people and the Kony1012 organization with some additional research. Unless you think giving money to an extremist evangelical christian stealth campaign to spread christianity and to make military inroads into Uganda for oil is a good thing. I do not.

[sporttrac]

12:28 PM on 03/11/2012

I see...if you had the source of that about statement you should of gave me the link.
There is much that goes on in 3rd world countries but do we just stop and do nothing because of one assumes. Children all over the world need what ever they can to find safety. If there is evangelical christian over there interfering with the faith of unganda, I believe they will find their roots one day, but becasue they are so supressed any help that can bring them to safety would be a start for them. As for oil, who knows...what goes on over there about that...its epicdimic, but do we do nothing...I think not. For someone to put ones own bias negative opinion at the expense of the children, I wonder if you are not a rebel that steals the human spirit of the children. If Kony2012 was not a good thing, President Obama wouldn't of sent troops out there, and sooner or later the troops that went would report back. I am not concerned about evangelical christian radical belief at this time, children safety first and foremost.