For the past 21 years, a civil war has been raging in Northern Uganda between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). With 1.2 million Ugandans displaced as a result of the war, the LRA resorted to kidnapping children, who make up 90 percent of the rebel army. Thousands of children who managed to escape abduction are now known as the Invisible Children.

In an effort to bring attention to the events in Uganda, students at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School began to raise awareness concerning these Invisible Children through the Schools for Schools organization.

"Schools for Schools is a non-profit organization from Invisible Children Inc. that raises money to go directly to building schools for the children of Northern Uganda," said junior Zac Chapman, who has been involved with Invisible Children for more than a year.

Invisible Children began when three filmmakers, Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole, traveled to Uganda in 2003 and discovered a generation of children who know nothing but violence as a result of the war. Their film was brought back to the United States and made into the documentary Invisible Children: Rough Cut .

"I think the documentary really inspired me to take action," said senior Meghan Dhaliwal. "It is incredibly powerful, and after I watched it, all I could think about were those kids and how I could help them."

Working with Amnesty International at SPFHS, Schools for Schools put together a canister drive at local businesses, which collected more than $1,000. The club also placed cans in all homeroom classes at the high school during the week of November 26 to raise additional funds. "The money we raise goes directly to one of the poverty-stricken schools," said junior Susie Gonch, secretary for Schools for Schools. "We buy books and other supplies, along with paying for badly-needed repair jobs."

"The life of the children in Uganda is unfathomable to those who don't experience what they go through," said junior Anjli Bansal, who became involved with Schools for Schools after viewing the documentary. "Without aid from others and without their stories being heard, these children will remain invisible."

Freshman Lauren Berk, who has been involved with Invisible Children since last year, has already spoken about the issues in Uganda to classes at Park Middle School and Terrill Middle School, classes in the high school, the Amnesty International club, SPFHS Alumni Association and the board of education. "They are invisible because the world has closed its eyes and turned its back," said Berk. "They remain unseen to the majority of the global population. That is what this campaign is about: raising awareness."

"It is extremely easy to become part of the cause, and we're urging more people to come to the Schools for Schools meetings," said Chapman. Students looking to become more involved in the Invisible Children cause are welcome to join Amnesty International and Schools for Schools, take part in fundraisers, sign up at invisiblechildren.com to keep track of upcoming events and view the documentary to see for themselves what life is like for these children.