The issue of people taking advantage of African country's plights under the guise of charities (and/or people being falsely blamed of corruption when they mean well) is certainly nothing new, and this just makes that reality all the more depressing.
I want to help, but...ugh...now it's like I don't know which link to trust or anything...literally the only thing that would make me feel 100% convinced would be my direct involvement in person flying down there, which clearly isn't happening.
Yes, but the information they're spreading isn't going to give people actual awareness. It's just a whole load of half-truths and borderline propaganda.
The campaign may be Kony 2012, but that video was clearly just as much about the charity and the man behind it. I mean, the part with his son and the stupid special effects.
You're going to need to explain "actual awareness" - what does that even mean. Even if you choose not to support this organization, you know about the issue from watching the video.
And were they ever officially found to be fraudulent? I'm finding it hard to believe a charity of that magnitude wouldn't have already been exposed in the years they have been active.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A HUGE MOVEMENT ON APRIL 20th;
IT'S IS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING, EVERY CHARITY DON'T GIVE IT'S MONEY RIGHT TO THE CHILDREN, OF COURSE THEY NEED THE MONEY TO ARRANGE HELPING THEM!!
I HATE THE PEOPLE WHO ALWAYS TRY TO FIND NEGATIVE STUFF IN ANYTHING!!!
WITHOUT THIS VIDEO; ACTUALLY NOBODY WOULD CARE AND KONY WOULDN'T BE IN THE NEWS!!!
me two i am so supporting. the propaganda by rival charities to discredit the movement is trashy. plus last time i checked he aint no al qaeda who runs an international organisation and for the world to be made aware of this issue will force the corrupt governments involved in Africa and wherever else to stop supporting him but instead pull him out and deal with the injustices. Cause this issue can be stopped its not a huge region like a country thats affected but just a small portion of a country corrupted and abandoned by its greedy and coward leaders .
You're going to need to explain "actual awareness" - what does that even mean. Even if you choose not to support this organization, you know about the issue from watching the video.
And were they ever officially found to be fraudulent? I'm finding it hard to believe a charity of that magnitude wouldn't have already been exposed in the years they have been active.
Well, the video paints a picture of a country currently being ravaged by a madman, with no one - neither in Uganda or the rest of the world - doing anything to stop the carnage. That they're "Invisible".
In reality, while Kony is a horrible, horrible man and needs to be brought to justice for what he has done, they pointedly neglect to mention so much:
- that Uganda is currently in a state of rebuilding and recovery while Kony is in hiding (and no one knows where he is), similar to how Saddam was when the US years.
- Africans are not 'invisible'. This is the whole white saviour hollywood narrative of the white guy saving the poor old africans and getting the bad guy. II's insulting and problematic.
-Ugandans have been saving themselves for years, and there have been many attempts to find and take Kony from the US and abroad. The problem is that the issue is so much more complex . For one, the IC support and fund the national armies - armies well known for commiting their own atrocities like raping and attacking women and children. Can we really say that it's worth sacrificing those people to get Kony?
-And there's the opposition being those kid rebel soldiers who are forced to do what they do.
There's a lot more, but you get the picture. It's SO complex, and a complete mess, which is why it is still an issue, rather than simply because the poor Africans are too weak. I agree that people need to know about these issues and awareness is great, but they need to know the facts and not just a few of them to suit the aims of the charity. If people know it all and still choose to donate to IC over other charities then fine, but clearly 98% of people posting about this/donating don't.
And they're shady. I don't know if they're fraudulent, but plenty of major organizations have criticized it in the past - both for the distribution (and privacy) of their finances and other things. It has a 2/5 star on Charity Navigator which, needless to say, isn't a good thing.
me two i am so supporting. the propaganda by rival charities to discredit the movement is trashy. plus last time i checked he aint no al qaeda who runs an international organisation and for the world to be made aware of this issue will force the corrupt governments involved in Africa and wherever else to stop supporting him but instead pull him out and deal with the injustices. Cause this issue can be stopped its not a huge region like a country thats affected but just a small portion of a country corrupted and abandoned by its greedy and coward leaders .
This is incredibly misleading. Travel, transport, and film production all go toward raising awareness of the LRA, which is, you know, their goal. It's not like they don't travel from the west coast of the USA to Africa regularly. Then there's funds which sustain the charity, of course.
IC is flawed, but not as atrocious people are making it out to be. The issue is complex, even the good guys have dubious motivations, but you don't tear down a building because you found a hole in the wall.
The "but intervention will kill children!" point is also moot. Kids will be raped and killed with or without intervention, but guess which path leads to Kony's downfall?
Ugh, I love you, you literally put my thoughts on this in words.
Well, the video paints a picture of a country currently being ravaged by a madman, with no one - neither in Uganda or the rest of the world - doing anything to stop the carnage. That they're "Invisible".
In reality, while Kony is a horrible, horrible man and needs to be brought to justice for what he has done, they pointedly neglect to mention so much:
- that Uganda is currently in a state of rebuilding and recovery while Kony is in hiding (and no one knows where he is), similar to how Saddam was when the US years.
- Africans are not 'invisible'. This is the whole white saviour hollywood narrative of the white guy saving the poor old africans and getting the bad guy. II's insulting and problematic.
I find it improbable that a majority of Americans knew about the children being put into these peoples' militia groups. In that sense, they were invisible. It is without a doubt, an objectively sound problem, but subjectively, it's not considered a social problem here.
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-Ugandans have been saving themselves for years, and there have been many attempts to find and take Kony from the US and abroad. The problem is that the issue is so much more complex . For one, the IC support and fund the national armies - armies well known for commiting their own atrocities like raping and attacking women and children. Can we really say that it's worth sacrificing those people to get Kony?
I don't believe they should be advocating for violence against violence - that much we can agree on. However, I'm not so naive in thinking that I know about the political and social climate in central parts (or any part besides Egypt) of Africa. It is perhaps the lesser of two evils, which sounds convoluted but policy carried out in Africa is going to be a lot different from policy carried out in the Middle East or Asia.
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-And there's the opposition being those kid rebel soldiers who are forced to do what they do.
There's a lot more, but you get the picture. It's SO complex, and a complete mess, which is why it is still an issue, rather than simply because the poor Africans are too weak. I agree that people need to know about these issues and awareness is great, but they need to know the facts and not just a few of them to suit the aims of the charity. If people know it all and still choose to donate to IC over other charities then fine, but clearly 98% of people posting about this/donating don't.
98% is arbitrary. No one can say with certainty the amount of genuinely dedicated people this cause attracts.
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And they're shady. I don't know if they're fraudulent, but plenty of major organizations have criticized it in the past - both for the distribution (and privacy) of their finances and other things. It has a 2/5 star on Charity Navigator which, needless to say, isn't a good thing.
Its overall is 3/4, coming from a 4/4 financial rating and a 2/4 accountability and transparency rating. Upon researching other moderate-large charities, most have similar scores to this one - in both fields - so I don't know how this charity became the bane of all dishonesty.
In the end, I think the charity has problems but it certainly is not alone. All charities have their approach, some more traditional than others - others like this one have an unorthodox means, which takes advantage of social media and a hot headed younger generation, who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, myself included.
I don't know why people are getting so worked up, eventually this will blow over, and people will move on to the next "crisis" that everyone should "help".
Some of yall defending this, and I bet all you have done is just post the link to the video on facebook.
I don't like the idea of villain portraying. Americans should learn what they got from creating Communist Ghost, Saddam Ghost and Bin Laden Ghost. And the Gavin scene is just the same method Kony uses to produce child soldiers.
The film puts me off, but I have to thank them for raising a good topic to discuss.
now sis are the other charities better? sadly its just a buisness for many,with sabotage and more.
There are plenty of other charities like UN ones that have better ratings, don't support extremest military armies, and give more money to people who need it. That's the whole point of this thread.
But if you want to continue to pay for the CEO of IC's 90K salary go ahead.
CRITIQUES
Thank you for reading this and doing further research about Invisible Children (IC) and KONY 2012. In response to this explosion of interest about the KONY 2012 film, there have been hundreds of thousands of comments in support of the arrest of Joseph Kony and the work of Invisible Children. However, there have also been pieces written that are putting out false or misleading information about these efforts.
This statement is our official response to some of these articles and is a source for accurate information about Invisible Children's mission, financials and approach to stopping LRA violence.
Invisible Children's mission is to stop LRA violence and support the war-affected communities in East and Central Africa. These are the three ways we achieve this mission; each is essential:
1) Make the world aware of the LRA. This includes making documentary films and touring them around the world so that they are seen for free by millions of people.
2) Channel energy from viewers of IC films into large-scale advocacy campaigns to stop the LRA and protect civilians.
3) Operate programs on the ground in LRA-affected areas that provide protection, rehabilitation and development assistance.
As you will see, we spend roughly one third of our money on each of these three goals. This three-prong approach is what makes Invisible Children unique. Some organizations focus exclusively on documenting human rights abuses, some focus exclusively on international advocacy or awareness, and some focus exclusively on on-the-ground development. We do all three. At the same time. This comprehensive model is intentional and has proven to be very effective.
We are committed, and always have been, to be 100% financially transparent and to communicate in plain language the mission of the organization so that everyone can make an informed decision about whether they want to support our strategy.
RE: FINANCIALS
Invisible Children's financial statements are online for everyone to see. Financial statements from the last 5 years, including our 990, are available at www.invisiblechildren.com/financials. The organization spent 80.46% on our programs that further our three-fold mission; 16.24% on administration and management costs; and 3.22% on direct fundraising in Fiscal Year 2011. Invisible Children is independently audited every year and in full compliance with our 501(c)3 nonprofit status.
Below is a screen-shot from pages 35 and 36 of the 2011 Invisible Children annual report that detail our total expenses for Fiscal Year 2011. An expense statement by class is the way nonprofits present their expenses to the public because it's the clearest way to show the purpose of different organizational expenses vs. a line item expense statement such as the one on page 6 of our Audited Financial Report.
What exactly were WE doing before? And what exactly is us giving THEM money gonna do?
It's a guilty conscience thing they're using on people, and it seems to be working.
I follow it, because of the issue. The children. Not guilt. I passed on the message. I'm trying to make folks aware. People passed it on/shared it for awareness, not guilt.
waiT.
You do realize that the BBB isn't a government agency...
and that they require a "donation" for you business to get a BBB rating.
The Better Business Bureau is very reputable. Unlike IC.
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Originally posted by Jameson Teqkilla
We're not asking you to have "Every charity in the world" memorized. We're asking you to name literally ONE other charity. The fact that you can't even do that proves you're just as uneducated about the issue as any one else. Reading one article doesn't make you smarter than someone who watched one 30 minute video.
I've read multiple articles, watched multiple videos on the subject and researched IC extensively. Unlike you, I do not buy into everything people tell me. Finding other charities wasn't my concern as I wasn't going to donate to them anyway. I merely thought it was imperative for me to fully understand the topic before I blindly support an organization that seemed incredibly suspicious the second they wanted my money. People have already posted multiple charities, but no, I cba to look up reputable charities. Do that on your own time if you're genuinely concerned and want to donate. All I can tell you is DON'T waste your time with IC.
"To be quite honest, that KONY 2012 documentary is absolutely sketchy and shady. KONY IS a horrid person on all accounts, but sharing a video link thinking you're doing something "humanitarian" is gonna do nothing and it won't be long before everyone goes back to their normal lives. Not only that, but almost all the money will just go to more documentaries, and just other things that aren't related to the victims of this war. Don't get me wrong, Kony needs to be stopped, but there are other charities you could donate to that will actually HELP. Awareness can only go so far"
Basically, mariska, everything you said is basically my viewpoint as well.