ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — A group of students from Faith Presbyterian School in Robertsdale will be staging a protest this Friday afternoon.

It is not a protest against uniform policy or the cafeteria (or lack of one) at their school. It is not a protest against traffic on Highway 59 or perceived injustice at any U.S. government level. It is much bigger than that.

The protest is two-fold. First, the protest will be to raise awareness for the children of Uganda, children of a longstanding war whose end is just now appearing to have an end in sight.

Maria Sanders of Robertsdale, Katie Bishop of Magnolia Springs, Veronica Ledlow of Loxley, Whitney Mathison of Daphne, Lindsey Godwin of Fairhope make up the entire senior class at Faith Presbyterian and will be out in front of the school, located just off of Highway 59 in Robertsdale, as school lets out on Friday.

The project originally called for a night walk to demonstrate how the Ugandan children must walk at night to avoid wartime patrols, but will now be a static protest during the afternoon hours with the five Faith seniors holding signs to raise awareness for the Ugandan children’s plight.

Invisible Children is an organization created by three young filmakers in California who originally wanted a subject they could use to make a short film. They wanted to do more and created the organization to raise awareness and money.

Information on the group’s website, invisiblechildren.com, describes the situation:

“THE WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA

A HISTORY OF AFRICA’S LONGEST RUNNING WAR

“The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 21 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government have been waging a war that has left nearly 2 million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Ugandan government has failed to protect its citizens from this rebel militia that has murdered mothers and buried the young, leaving an entire generation of youth that has never known peace.  

“The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unjust to the Acholis. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the movement was left, Joseph Kony, who claimed to be Lakwena’s cousin, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA.

“Kony’s LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement because of their extreme tactics. With dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of the LRA’s troops are children.

“In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and relocated them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection. But over a decade later roughly 1.5 million individuals live in these camps and struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation.

“In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the U.S. Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization, a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders.

“Pressure from the international community and a strong desire to realize peace has brought the Ugandan government and the LRA to the negotiating table on numerous occasions, though they have yet to find a peaceful resolution. The most recent talks commenced in Juba, Sudan in July 2006, and a cessation of hostility agreement was signed the following month. In July 2007, the United States appointed Tim Shortly as a special envoy to assist in the peace talks, an action that solidified the U.S.’s dedication to ending this conflict. For the talks to come to a peaceful resolution, five agenda items must be agreed upon between the LRA and the Ugandan government. With only two agendas remaining, these negotiations represent the best chance this war has seen for peace.

UGANDA TODAY

“Since 2003, night commuting has all but ceased for the children of northern Uganda. A temporary truce between the Ugandan government and the LRA has held for more than a year, and as peace continues to progress, many nations, including the US, have appointed special envoys to oversee this process. This current cessation of hostilities marks the longest period of peace in the North for more than 20 years, and while the hope for peace is strong and the talks have made significant strides in reducing the conflict, a declaration for lasting peace has yet to be signed. In Gulu and the surrounding districts, issues concerning the nature of justice for victims and perpetrators for war crimes are presently being debated.

“With peace now in sight, greater focus is being placed on the aftermath of the conflict. Currently the majority of northern Uganda’s population lives in IDP camps, and while the desire is for them to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former ways of life are all but gone. Access to clean water, economic opportunities, health centers, and education are a pressing concern in daily life and even more so for the many who contemplate a return to resource-barren villages.

“In light of the current situation and a nearing peace, Invisible Children is addressing the need for access to education and economic development through three innovative programs on the ground.”

The five classmates at Faith Presbyterian found the website last year while looking for a senior project. They ordered the DVD and with the encouragement of a teacher, set out on a project of their own.

“We really want to let the public know what is going on and how they can help,” Sanders said.

The class is not only raising awareness, they are raising money, specifically for a school in Uganda, the Awere Secondary School. Their goal is to raise $10,000 for their school by selling bracelets and by raising funds through the group’s website, www.invisiblechildren.com. You can also obtain information by sending an email to invisiblefaces@yahoo.com.