26 May 2009

College students raise awareness of "invisible children"

Cooranbong, New South Wales
Lyndelle Lawrence

The rescue of "abducted" Avondale College students and others at Hyde Park Barracks Museum in Sydney on April 26 has raised awareness of "invisible children."

The group of 137 students and young adults from Regeneration, one of the Bible-study groups at the college, participated in "The rescue," an overnight camp organised as part of an international campaign by Invisible Children, a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which uses child soldiers in an ongoing war in northern Uganda.

"When people are aware of something like this, they are presented with two choices: to act or to ignore," says Josh Brown, an Avondale alumnus and member of the Regeneration leadership team.

On May 2, more than 1000 participants marched from Bradfield Park across Sydney Harbour Bridge to a mock-LRA camp on the Fleet Steps at the Royal Botanic Gardens. The rally simulated conditions experienced by abducted child soldiers. Participants also wrote letters to Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, foreign affairs minister Stephen Smith and other politicians in New South Wales.

From there, participants marched to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, where they spent the night waiting for organisers to raise four flags, each signifying a minimum number of letters written, money raised, the arrival of a cultural leader and media coverage. All four flags were raised by 5.30 am on the Sunday, signifying a successful "rescue."

Photo credit: Kim Brown

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