Senior Bringing Story of African Child Soldiers to WHS

As a part of her promise as student body president, Brianna O'Brien said her focus was to "bring in a lot of new things" to this year.

O'Brien, a senior, said she soon found a great way use that desire to expose her classmates and the surrounding community to new educational opportunities when she learned that Invisible Children, an international organization founded in 2004 to help end the use of child soldiers in Africa, would be willing to travel to Hampton for free later this month to speak about their mission and how decades of war are fracturing African families.

"There still is an issue in Africa with children soldiers," said O'Brien. "It's an issue that's been taught in [our] social studies classes before. It's always been an issue in Africa.

"This [organization] is something a lot of people have unified over. I'm hoping this... presentation will build that unity and awareness and caring about the issue [on the Seacoast]."

Representatives from Invisible Children, known as "roadies," will show a video and speak to students, parents and any interested individuals during a free presentation at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in the WHS auditorium. A Ugandan speaker is also expected to give a speech about personal experiences growing up during the war.

Invisible Children is a non-profit organization that uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in a 25-year, four-country rebel war lead by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army, as well as restore affected communities in central Africa to peace and prosperity, according to the Invisible Children website. 

Despite widespread media coverage, O'Brien said there aren't many people who know what really happens to the children and families in those African communities or how they can help support those communities targeted in the war, which is why she said she wanted Invisible Children to come to Hampton.

"It's something I'm really excited to bring to the school," said O'Brien, who had been working since the end of last school year to secure a visit from Invisible Children.

There has been some controversy recently about Invisible Children's campaigns, although O'Brien said it shouldn't discredit the many crimes against children in Africa or the need for more local awareness about the issue.

"It's not masking the actual problems themselves in Africa," said O'Brien. "Just because there are flaws in the organization, it shouldn't eliminate the real issue that's there."

More information about Invisible Children and the content of the Sept. 26 presentation can be found on the organization's website.