Students support Invisible Children

Posted on Mar 08, 2007

On March 5, Lauralton Hall students attended a presentation by the Invisible Children organization. Religion teacher Damien Connolly writes eloquently about the steps that led up to this presentation and its powerful effect on the students:

The Religion class, Peace and Justice, is a very interesting class. Students delve into all kinds of controversial issues like the death penalty, racism, abortion, equal rights, etc. Yet, after studying these issues, we--students and teacher--feel incompetent in the face of all that needs to be done to correct the world’s situation. But we take refuge in the fact that the course is academic. Students will merely be tested on how to bring justice to the world. Whether they effect any change is not the point, when it comes to the GPA. So, after talking (at length) about what good Catholics should do, a feeling of hypocrisy sets in. That’s never good.  

Last year, I had my students bring in newspaper and magazine articles that addressed certain injustices taking place in the world. One student, Caitlyn Ruble, ’07, brought in a DVD, Invisible Children, about a great injustice taking place in Uganda. Always eager for a change of pace, the class looked up as Invisible Children was being played. It told a story that brought many to tears…

Three young American guys, replete with cameras and backpacks, went to Uganda looking for a “story.” What they discovered was enough to make a movie. The bottom line of the movie is that young children are being abducted to fight as mercenaries in a long-drawn-out civil war. Once abducted, they are brutally de-sensitized to violence and are trained as killers. Those children who wish to escape such a fate are forced to sleep together in a run-down station miles from home. They are “invisible children” because this injustice has been escaping the world’s eye and no records are kept of their number or age.

The movie shocked the class. There was a strong sense that everyone wanted to help. It’s certainly good to pray, but the class wanted to do more. As it turns out, there was a section of the DVD all about “what YOU can do to help.” One of the ideas was to organize screenings of the movie and to sell Invisible Children merchandise to help the cause. The merchandise includes beautiful bracelets hand-made by the children, T-shirts and DVDs. The money is channeled to education in Uganda. All at once, the whole class wanted a school-wide screening of the movie. So, I got onto the Invisible Children website and emailed the organization about how we could go about the whole thing. But it was late in the year and the chances of getting an assembly slot were slim. For the remainder of the year, we didn’t forget. Our hopes were high for “next year.”

Lo and behold, at the beginning of this school year, another of my past students, Joanna Nicoletti, ’07, approached me. She had been in touch with the Invisible Children organization and learned that they were actually doing a tour of the US and would be passing through Connecticut. This was the moment we had been waiting for. I emailed them…they emailed me…and before you knew it, they were coming. On March 5, 2007, members from the Invisible Children organization came to Lauralton Hall. A shortened version of the movie was shown. The atmosphere was very respectful (which shows that teenage girls can stop talking if they really want to). Laughter went up a number of times for those light-hearted parts of the movie, which helped us make it through the more depressing sections. At lunch time, the crew set up shop in the cafeteria and sold more than $4,000 worth of merchandise. The sales were greater than in any other Connecticut school visited by the Invisible Children crew. More than that, many of our students signed up to give $3 a week to the cause, and many more are interested in participating in the Invisible Children “displacement” night in April. At last, we were doing something, instead of just talking about it.

It would be easy for me to take credit for organizing a successful assembly. But that would be wrong. I didn’t organize anything. I just sent a few emails. Instead, credit should go first of all to the Invisible Children organization and the crew members who, having left their jobs (including their outstanding loans) for one year, crisscross the country selling goods to help the children. And of course, we can’t forget our own Lauralton girls (especially those mentioned) who kept pushing for the assembly.

As it happens, we find ourselves looking forward to “next year” yet again. It seems that Lauralton Hall will have the honor of having a very active Invisible Children club.

My thanks to all involved.

Damien Connolly
Religion Teacher