By Shannon Murphy
Over 400 people crowded into the pavilion to watch a film during 5th and 6th period A+ on Mon. Oct. 18.
The goal of the film, as well as the group that presented it, is to raise social awareness of the atrocities plaguing Northern Uganda.
The group Invisible Children is a nationwide organization that focuses its efforts on restoring the peace and prosperity of what is now a war-torn country.
At the beginning of the assembly the crowd, composed of teachers and students of all grade levels, struggled to find seats as the remaining people leaned against walls to observe the film “GO.” When the film started the once chatty audience fell silent in awe of the movie’s enlightening message of social responsibility. It followed nine students from the States to Uganda and exposed the reality of the situation – that without help there is little hope.
The presenting group consisted of Bryn Hobson, Lauren Grace, and Pepito Francis. Francis, pictured at right, was featured in the film and was a resident of
Uganda at the time.
The objective of the assembly was to increase involvement in a program Invisible Children has implemented called “Schools for Schools.” Disguised as a friendly competition amongst high schools, Schools for Schools is a fundraiser that donates its earnings to help rebuild schools in Uganda.
More specifically, Schools for Schools is a national attempt to raise a million dollars by Dec. 17 of this year. In order to ‘win’ the competition, a school must do one of three things.
First, a school may raise the most money within its region. The country has been divided into 11different regions. SVHS will be competing in the Nor. Cal. region.
Secondly, a school may raise in excess of $20,000. Since the winning schools of each region usually raise anywhere between $12,000 and $20,000 such a feat is justly rewarded.
The third and final method of winning is the same way Hobson’s school in Petaluma did several years ago, by having the most creative fundraising idea.
So what does the winning school receive? Other than the gratification of helping the impoverished and devastated children of Uganda, the school elects a single student to be take a trip with other winners to Uganda.
They will be equipped with a video camera to document their entire trip, just as the students in the film were.
Leading our school’s charge towards the daunting task of raising this amount of money is senior, Austin Rose.
What started as merely being “socially conscious,” Rose has since become much more proactive in social causes.
Not only did he organize this particular assembly but also dedicated his Senior Project to assisting in the Schools for Schools challenge, which is now a club on campus.
“It’s a club devoted to providing the children of Uganda an education,” Rose explained.
What is especially inspiring about the challenge is that each high school is dedicated to rebuilding a single school in Uganda. Additionally, its construction may be tracked on the group’s website InvisibleChildren.com.
Rose insists that education is the best action that can be taken.
“The only way to alleviate the conflict there is by educating the next generation of leaders,” claims Rose.