Hey Guys!
Important news straight from the IC blog:
“If you haven’t heard yet, the LRA Disarmament Bill passed its first big test yesterday. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee affirmed the bill unanimously, moving the bill one step closer to President Obama’s desk. This is a colossal pat on the back for all of our efforts, but the time for celebration is yet to come. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Anyway, we also had an awesome meeting yesterday tlking about this same bill. But even for those of you that didn’t go this is a REALLY important blog post!
Yesterday, we wrote letters to Senator Diane Feinstein and Congressman Howard (Buck) McKeon. And we made a couple phone calls too. 
But whether or not you went to the meeting today, you still have a really important action item: To participate in “The Hometown Shake Down”.
What’s that?
Well, today, everyone involved in Invisible Children are calling/emailing and writing letters to their congress men and women. And we need your help too!
Below, I’ll have a sample phone call, letter & email.
You can do any of the three, but all we ask is that you do one.
And really, how long does it take to copy and paste an email? Like what, 35 seconds?
(And even if you wrote a letter yesterday, it’d still be awesome if you called in or sent an email)
Hold the phone. (Yes I really did just say that.)
Before you do ANYTHING else, go here and sign the petition for Joseph Koney’s arrest!
This will take you right to it and all you have to do is put down your name and email and you will have signed it!
Okay, now you can continue. below are the sample email, phone call & letter. Take a look!
Email: (Why this is important: Our elected representatives keep a tally of how many emails they receive on an issue. The more they hear about their constituents’ concern for this conflict, the more likely they are to make peace a priority. It’s the whole squeaky wheel concept.)
http://feinstein.senate.gov
http://mckeon.house.gov/
“Hi. My name is _________ and I’m writing from _________ to ask you to do more to help the children being victimized by the
Lord’s Resistance Army and to help achieve peace.
The situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly and immediate action is needed to stop the violence and protect people from
attack and abduction. Much greater investment is needed from the U.S. to make this happen.
Specifically, I am asking that you sign on to the “LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act” to appropriate money
to help war-affected communities and urge the Obama Administration to address the continued threat posed by the LRA.
As a constituent in your district, I would appreciate your efforts to bring an immediate end to this conflict. Thank you.”
Phone call:
Senator Feinstein’s office: 202-224-3841
Congressman McKeon’s office: 202-225-1956
When you call, if you get a recording you can just skip dow to the script below. But if a live person picks up, say that you would like to leave a comment for (whoever you’re calling) and then, once they’re ready say:
“Hi. My name is _________ and I’m calling from _________ to ask President Obama to do more to help the children being
victimized by the Lord’s Resistance Army and to help achieve peace in central Africa.
The situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly and immediate action is needed to stop the violence and protect people from
attack and abduction. Much greater investment is needed from the US to make this happen.
Specifically, I am asking President Obama for three things: first, to make a public statement about the LRA’s atrocities and commit
the United States to stopping Kony by Christmas 2009. Second, I am asking that he sign into law the “LRA Disarmament and
Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009” and third, that he commit to the recovery of war-affected areas in east Africa.
I am also calling to urge (name of congress person) to cosign this said bill. (House Bill # HR248-for McKeon- and Senate Bill # S1067-for Feinstein)
As a citizen of the United States, I would appreciate your efforts to bring an immediate end to this conflict. Thank you.
But if its live, don’t hang up yet! They will probably ask you you’re area code and such (not really a big deal).
Letter (this is the one we wrote @ the meeting yesterday):
“Hi. My name is _________ and I’m writing from _________ to ask you to do more to help the children being victimized by the Lord’s
Resistance Army and to help achieve peace.
The situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly and immediate action is needed to stop the violence and protect people from
attack and abduction. Much greater investment is needed from the U.S. to make this happen.
Specifically, I am asking that you sign on to the “LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act” to appropriate money to
help war-affected communities and urge the Obama Administration to address the continued threat posed by the LRA.
As a constituent in your district, I would appreciate your efforts to bring an immediate end to this conflict. Thank you.”
(And, yes I know the letters take longer, but the cool thing about them is that our congress men & women – or at least their secretaries – have to read all of the hand-written letters.)
Some helpful facts:
- LRA atrocities, which began in Northern Uganda and have now spilled over to three neighboring countries, have been occurring
_ for more than 23 years. This is Africa’s longest running conflict.
- Over 1.5 million people have been forced into squalid displacement camps that lack even the basic necessities.
- Over 60,000 children have been abducted and used in this brutal conflict as frontline soldiers and sex slaves.
Anyway guys, thank you SO MUCH for helping out!
See you Tuesday! (And get all your friends to sign the petition too! 
)
-Juliana
