Invisible children.

One of the reasons I became an inner-city teacher is that I wanted to expose disadvantaged students in the U.S. to global issues. It is likely that out of the many students I interact with every day, most of them have not left Indiana, and some have not even left the city of Indianapolis. How are they to know what is going on across the ocean when they haven't even been exposed to the issues in their own territory?

That is why I am hoping to set up a visit to my school from the roadies of Invisible Children. It's an amazing youth-created, youth-driven, and youth-focused grassroots movement to help the millions of displaced war-struck children of Uganda.

The movement started with three young guys, traveling to Africa with their cameras simply to experience an adventure. When they arrived, they discovered an African Holocaust taking place in Uganda. A rebel army leader was killing and mutilating the population, and kidnapping the children to create and strengthen his own rebel forces. The guys realized they had to do something.

They created a documentary, and spread the word. It came out in 2003, and since then, Invisible Children has turned into a non-profit that has made astounding social and political change for the people in Uganda--in particular, the children. When they first visited the country, thousands of children were walking barefoot for miles in order to seek refuge from the rebel army. Since the start of the movement, the commutes have practically stopped for good.

But there is still a lot of work to be done. The rebel army is still up and running, and the leader is still wreaking havoc on Uganda's people. Children who have been rescued from the rebel army are scarred from the abuse and the brainwashing, and the schools in Uganda need the funding to create proper education for the youth of the country.

While it is important that my students learn where to put their commas and their periods, it is also important for them to become beneficial citizens of the world. If they are able to become active participants in such a groundbreaking grassroots movement, hopefully they'll be motivated to start their own movements--small or large.

I'll let you know if the roadies are able to visit! If not, I still plan on showing the documentary to my students. Our theme this year is "Challenges" after all, particularly the "Challenge of Heroism," so what could be better?

Check out the video below, watch a recent documentary being shown by the roadies here, or go to the website to find out more.