Invisible Children’s Face to Face Tour Comes to NSU to Raise Awareness of Plight of Child Soldiers in Uganda – Oct. 7

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – The Invisible Children Face to Face Tour will be coming to Nova Southeastern University (NSU) on Thursday, Oct. 7 from 12 to 1 p.m. to help raise awareness about children who are abducted and forced to fight as soldiers in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group currently terrorizing central east Africa.

Invisible Children

The group, which is a media-based non-profit dedicated to ending Africa’s longest-running war, will begin by hosting a screening of the short film GO at 12 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium of the Carl DeSantis Building, which houses NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at 3301 College Ave. in Davie.

This event is FREE and open to the public, and is a part of Invisible Children’s Face to Face Tour, where 11 teams are traveling across America in vans to show films with the Ugandans who are featured. At NSU, event participants can meet:

• Monica, 21, who was orphaned because of Africa’s longest running war. Despite these trials, she has been a top performing student from Aware Secondary School and will be starting at the university in the near future.
• Irene, who works on the frontlines at Invisible Children’s office in Pader, Uganda.

The pair will introduce the film GO and answer questions afterward. GO was made in 2007 and documents 20 American students going on an adventure of a lifetime: A trip into Africa’s longest running war. At the event, there will also be merchandise for sale, including bracelets, handbags, and t-shirts, made in Uganda.

The Oct. 7 event is being organized by NSU students Maria Espinola, Nayla Daou, and Timothy Kimuli. Espinola is working on her doctorate and serves as the president of the Student Coalition for Human Rights (SCHR) on campus. Daou is also a doctoral student and serves as the Coordinator of the SCHR Committee on Children’s Rights. Kimuli, who is originally from Uganda, is an undergraduate senior and serves as the Coordinator of the SCHR Committee on African Issues.

This is the second time that speakers from Invisible Children will present at NSU. Last year, more than 100 students attended the presentation. Many NSU students have also joined Invisible Children, donated money, traveled to Africa, signed up to volunteer, or organized other Invisible Children events.

Hundreds of NSU students also signed a petition written by Invisible Children asking President Obama to help stop the human rights violations committed by the LRA by passing the LRA Bill Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (S.1067). Because of the advocacy work done by young Invisible Children supporters across the country, 217 Members of Congress have co-sponsored this bill and it was recently signed into law by President Obama.  

Don’t miss this engaging and informative opportunity to learn more. For more information, please visit www.invisiblechildren.com or call 954-380-2119.

About Invisible Children: Invisible Children was created in response to an apparent lack of expression in the millennial generation for relevant activists. The founders felt that this generation was looking for a purpose, looking for the realization of ‘global citizenship.’ This crisis in Northern Uganda has become the catalyst of this movement, uniting young people to fight for the invisible children silenced by a disinterested world. By telling their stories through documentaries and short media, Invisible Children has wakened the sleeping giant, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of young people into active participation in foreign affairs. With the support Invisible Children receives from its film tours and young supporters, they implement innovative and effective programs on the ground in Uganda. From rebuilding schools, to providing scholarships and mentors, to building micro-economic village banks in an effort to bolster the war-destroyed economy of Northern Uganda, Invisible Children is holistically approaching the recovery of this devastated region. With their two-fold approach, both in innovative programs on the ground in Uganda and providing an avenue for the paradigm shift in the modern activist, Invisible Children is leading the way to a new kind of non-profit. They are revolutionizing the way young individuals engage with the world. For more information visit www.invisiblechildren.com.

Media Contact:
Andra Liwag, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5309 (office), 954-873-8494 (cell), andrali@nova.edu