This postThe other day I watched Bono’s TEDPrize acceptance speech. I ordinarily don’t care too much what rock stars have to say :), but the talk is good and worth your time. He says that our generation will be remembered for three things: 1) the digital revolution, 2) the war on terror, and 3) what we did or did not do to put out the fire in Africa.
Then, from Connor’s blog, I read about the Invisible Children documentary. I’d heard about it a few months prior in the Daily Universe (they had a BYU screening), and so when I found that it was on Google Video, I downloaded it onto my iPod.
And this morning I watched it.
Speechless.
Condensing it down, there’s been a 17-year-long war in Uganda between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (the rebels). The rebels have been abducting children from their homes, desensitizing them through exposure to horrific acts of violence (brutal slayings), and then turning them into heartless killing soldiers. To avoid being kidnapped, hundreds (probably thousands) of children walk long distances each night to take refuge in hospitals and other safe havens. They sleep on the floors, crammed together like sardines. And in the morning they walk back, hoping and praying they don’t get abducted.
This is an emergency.
Up to this point, my perception of human rights activists has been largely tainted by the (corrupt) ACLU. It’s a pity, since there are problems with human rights violations in the world — places where humanity seems scarcely evident, where people are treated like animals or worse, where millions of God’s children are suffering needlessly. “But maybe God intends it to be this way. If he didn’t, wouldn’t he have done something about it by now?” Absolutely not! Perhaps Africa is God’s training ground for those who profess to follow Christ.
And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the need, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who have in need — I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith. Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men. –Alma 34:28-29
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. –James 1:27
Can we sit in our homes, surrounded by our bountiful luxuries, and do nothing? Uganda isn’t the only place with problems, of course, but it is one of the more horrific. Watch the video and you’ll see what I mean. But what can we do about it? Paying fast offerings is of course the official way, and we need to keep doing that. But I think the Lord expects more.
At the end of the video, they list three ways to help:
- Time. Tell people about the Invisible Children. Spread the word and raise awareness. The more people know, the more will start to happen.
- Talent. Use your creativity to think of ways to help. This is where I’m racking my brains right now, trying to come up with something that’ll make even a small difference.
- Money. While I naturally tend to resist requests for money (in a world plagued with scams, you can’t be too careful), you do need resources to pull something off like this. And yet giving money is perhaps an easy way out. It’s important, yes, but if our only efforts at charity consist of writing a check or typing in a credit card number, we’re still not doing enough. Jesus didn’t sit at home writing checks to charities.
At the moment I don’t quite know what I can do to help out — other than tell people about it (which I’m doing right now :)) and buy the DVD/bracelet — but I do know that I can’t sit still. And not just about Uganda, either. There are worthy causes the world over which need help. My conscience is searing me for being so selfish most of my life. It’s time to change.
