On April 25th, 100 cities in 10 countries around the world abducted themselves to save the abducted children in Northern Uganda. The Rescue event put on by Invisible Children that I attended in Denver started off at Civic Center Park right in front of the Capitol. From there, I walked with 1,500 other people 3 miles tied to a rope to Cheesman Park. Why the ropes you may ask?? This is how the child soldiers in Uganda are commanded to walk so they cannot get away.
Once we arrived at Cheesman Park, we layed out our sleeping bags and got to work writing letters to the Senators of Colorado while waiting to be rescued. In order to be rescued we had to raise five flags, each a different color; red, purple, white, black, and green. The Red symbolizes media coverage of a local news station so we can raise awareness to the community around us. The Purple represents important cultural and political leaders that are needed to stand behind us and support the child soldiers. The White Flag stands for the two letters that every person wrote to the Senators. Once each letter was collected, the White Flag would be raised. The Black
symbolizes the ambassadors from our city representing us at Lobby Days in Washington DC on June 22nd and 23rd (go to howitends.tv for more information). Finally, the Green Flag stands for money. Each person needed to bring five dollars to the event; once everyone donated their five dollars, we were able to raise the Green Flag.
Denver was rescued at 8:55pm by a representative of Senator Mark Udall. Also, a band member from Flobots, a Denver local band, came out to support us. 7 News and 9 News came out to cover the event, we raised all the money, wrote all the letters, and got enough ambassadors to represent us. Because we were rescued, we were able to go home and wait for the rest of the cities to get rescued. By the end of the night on April 25th, there were still 15 cities left to be rescued. Each day the number dwindled down, and on Tuesday, there were two cities left, Richmond, Virginia, and Chicago Illinois. That night Richmond was rescued by Gavin DeGraw while Chicago kept trecking on. For three more days, Chicago stayed strong waiting and hoping for Oprah to rescue them. They choreographed a dance and performed it outside Oprah's studio trying to get noticed. On Friday, Oprah saw hundreds of people standing outside her studio and decided to hear them out. She agreed to have them on her show that day to tell the country about the child soldiers. Chicago's voice was heard, they were rescued, and after a week, the event was a success.
Please pray for these abducted children and for Lobby Days, an event that will hopefully end the longest running war in Africa. If you have the chance, I encourage you to go to Lobby Days and represent the child soldiers. Be a part of history and save the beautiful children of Northern Uganda. If you have not already seen the movie Invisible Children: Rough Cut, please watch it and see why I care so much about the people of Uganda. You will never be the same again after you watch this movie! I definitely haven't been.
Walking to the LRA Camp! Loving Uganda!
All five flags raised! We were rescued!
Pictures by: Taylor VanDuinen
Visit http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-249867 for more pictures from The Rescue in Denve.
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