About WPI Invisible Children
The WPI Invisible Children Club is a group of WPI students who work with the non-profit organization Invisible Children to improve the quality of life for war-affected children, particularly in Northern Uganda. This is accomplished through raising awareness, fundraising and advocacy on campus and in the community. See the events section of our website to learn about our current and past initiatives.
Money raised through fundraising campaigns will go towards our partner school, Atanga Secondary school, in northern Uganda. This partnership is facilitated through the Schools for Schools campaign at Invisible Children.
Club History
The WPI Invisible Children Club was officially recognized during D-term 2009. Before the recognition of the official club, WPI hosted two teams of New England Roadies. In B term of 2008, the roadies screened “GO” and C term of 2009 they showed “The Rescue”. Both of these screenings were sponsored by the WPI legal and social issues club. After viewing “The Rescue” documentary, students from WPI attended a nationwide event of the same name in Boston. These students traveled to this event with others from Clark University and volunteered as the clean-up crew for the event. This trip was funded by SGA.
About Invisible Children Inc.
How It Started
In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims.
After returning to the States, they created the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a film that exposes the tragic realities of northern Uganda.s night commuters and child soldiers.
The film was originally shown to friends and family, but has now been seen by millions of people. The overwhelming response has been, "How can I help?" To answer this question, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created, giving compassionate individuals an effective way to respond to the situation.
Who We Are
We are storytellers. We are visionaries, humanitarians, artists, and entrepreneurs. We are individuals part of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it.
As a non-profit we work to transform apathy into activism. By documenting the lives of those living in regions of conflict and injustice, we hope to educate and inspire individuals in the Western world to use their unique voice for change. Our media creates an opportunity for people to become part of a grassroots movement that intelligently responds to what’s happening in the world.
But our work extends beyond our borders. In war-affected regions we focus on long-term development, working directly with individuals and institutions that are eager to realize their full potential. Through education and innovative economic opportunities, we partner with affected communities and strive to improve the quality of life for individuals living in conflict and post-conflict regions.
How We Make A Difference
Our approach to humanitarian work is founded in the strength and intelligence of the Ugandan community. We learned early on it was not only important but essential to heed the wisdom of people that had not only lived in the war, but were surviving it. People who would know better than anyone what the greatest needs were and the best ways to meet them. What we came to find is that while there have been many efforts to address the issues that stem from living and fighting in such a long-lasting war, the people of Uganda are asking for a future beyond the conflict.
Their pleas have become our development strategy.
All of our programming is a partnership between those of us at Invisible Children and those in the Ugandan community. We focus on long-term goals that enable children to take responsibility for their future and the future of their country. Our programs are carefully researched and developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, resettlement from the camps, and financial stability.
