AFRICA Kony Atrocities and Links to Ways You Can HELP THE VICTIMS

This post is a departure from my usual Peanut Treatment topic but I thought it important to allow my readers across the globe (in over 83 countries) to read this post from my other blog- "Salt and Light". Let us all help those in need. 
I share this with you with the hope that something good may result from this post.

Atrocity for 25 years -You Can HELP the Victims of suffering and injustice.
Africa has experienced years of atrocity and tragedy in countries such as Biafra, Congo, Sudan and Rwanda to name but a few. Acts of genocide,tribal warfare, kidnapping, slavery, political violence and injustice have been common in Africa for decades. This is not new information. 

Now is your chance to help. Africa has not been the only place to suffer such horrors but it is the focus of this article.
HELPING the victims is the purpose of this post.

Children and families in Uganda and Central Africa have been terrorized for years by Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). (See the Video below).
The group is responsible for murder,mutilations, massacres, kidnapping of children to serve as soldiers or sex slaves and the displacement of up to 2 million people in Uganda in neighboring areas. Unimaginable crimes. His tactics brutal,using machetes and clubs regularly and forcing children to kill their own families. 

A new video documentary,"Kony 2012",made by Invisible Children,Inc. is part of a campaign raise awareness of Kony and his LRA. It highlights his crimes in an effort to create a public outcry and increase the chances Kony is finally brought to justice. The International Criminal Court has already indicted Kony and LRA leaders for crimes against humanity. 
Kony has not operated in Uganda since 2006 (see below-"Uganda Today"). His LRA has dwindled in size to around 200 according to various reports yet he continues to conduct raids in Congo,Central African Republic and Southern Sudan in order to survive.

The pain and suffering Kony has wrought is real and ongoing. People physically and psycologically devastated. He needs to be brought to justice.

The capture of Kony is another issue. This is a complicated subject.(See "Capture" below) 

YouTube, Twitter and other social media, perfect tools for such a campaign, have already been used to spread the message a wide audience. (Please share this post).

WAYS YOU CAN HELP the Victims 

Please open your heart and help bring healing,love and hope to victims still suffering and those trying to recover from great pain and loss. 
Genesis 1:27 We are all made in the image of God and deserve to be treated with love. 

We sponsor two orphans from Uganda. 
One is a young boy in Gulu,Uganda who was a victim of the LRA. He was abducted to serve as a child soldier. By the grace of God he escaped.Consider Orphan Sponsorship below.

The stories from Uganda are not new to me 
and although my family has supported many of the charities working in Uganda and Central Africa listed below I have not done enough to spread the word. 
Please share this blog post on Facebook and Twitter so your friends may have the opportunity to make a difference.

"and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds"   Hebrews 10:24. "keep on loving each other as brothers" Hebrews 13:1

If you would like to read more posts like this one click here for my Salt and Light blog.  You can "subscribe by Email" box in the upper right corner.

Links to Organizations that HELP 
ALARM,Inc -Donate , What We Do  African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministry -
I highly recommend them. I have met the founder. Their work is life changing.

Empower African Children - Donate I know the founder personally. Their work in Uganda is life changing. We sponsor an Orphan from Uganda that is now studying in the U.S.
They have several initiatives such as Holistic Care for Children

Every Child Ministries  In Africa- offering hope for child slaves, street children and forgotten children. Take time to explore their website. Learn more about their work and numerous projects. 
Click here to Donate to their Uganda project and read more about the child tragedy in Uganda.

Samaritan's Purse - Worldwide. Donate to Uganda PROJECTS scroll on the left to UGANDA
Samaritan's Purse UK
Samaritan's Purse CANADA

Hope International- Micro-finance - Donate Rwanda,Burundi,Congo,DRC and 12 other countries

Hope for Kids International- UK
World Hope CANADA
Hope International Development Agency- CANADA

Invisible Children - donate

Orphan Sponsorship
Compassion International- Sponsor a Child
Every Child Ministries- sponsor an orphan in Uganda - Sponsor an orphan in Uganda or other vulnerable child

World Vision -sponsor a child in Uganda. We sponsor 2 orphans (Zambia & Uganda). Fantastic organization!
World Vision UK- 
World Vision CANADA
World Vision AUSTRALIA
World Vision GERMANY

I applaud the tireless work of the 3 American videographers of Invisible Children. 
Visit the website. They have a passion for this cause. 
Compassion and love is evident
CAPTURE

Four LRA-affected countries are involved in the "hunt" to capture Kony and his men. The effort includes the Ugandan army which does have a record of human rights abuses. In October of 2011 the  U.S. sent 100 soldiers to help in the effort. 

If you are considering a donation to Invisible Children you may want to do your own internet research on this entire topic. Click here for their financial statements. There will be opinions on all sides. 

Where is Kony now?  He is operating mainly in DRC,Central African Republic and Southern Sudan. According the LRA Crisis tracker in the past month the LRA has abducted 42 people and killed 2 people. Kony and his men may operate in small groups but their effect is still devastating. 

What if one of those kidnapped was your child.

UGANDA TODAY

Joseph Kony no longer operates in Uganda. His long running and brutal attempt to overthrow the Ugandan government failed. Northern Uganda has been free of Kony's violence since 2006. Gulu, once the center of the LRA activities, has not seen the rebels since that time. 

It is now a peaceful area. The region and its people are getting back to a more normal way of life and healing is slowly happening. Many Christian and humanitarian groups work in all the areas affected including surrounding countries. 

Uganda has suffered so much. Remember their former dictator Idi Amin? (read here)

Isaiah 1:17 

"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed; defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow" 

Proverbs 24:11-12  

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"

(note- Southern Sudan,a new country in July 2011, has a refugee crisis and ongoing violence unrelated to Kony and is facing possible food shortages according the U.N -Feb 2012)