FFF - Kony Style

FUN FACT FRIDAY

I am sure that many of you have seen this video this week -

When I watched it 

1. I cried because this is something I think about a lot  

and

2. I questioned it. 

I shared it but after sharing it, I immediately regretted doing that simply because I hadn't done my research. One thing I've learned in my lifetime is that you can never take anything at face value. There is always another side and I have learned to question everything I see. So what did I do? I did more research and this is what I've found - 

This article, Huffington Post, was the best rebuttal I saw. It gives a personal account for the happenings in Uganda and the story seems to have some validity. 

All to often, I see something that upsets me because I know it's wrong and my solution is to throw money at it. It's like, if I donate money, it'll make me feel better about what's going on in the world but I don't take the time to do research to really see where my money is going. 

On the other hand, there is also always someone who wants to complain about something. So you can have the nicest, purest, most authentic intentions and someone will find something wrong with it. So how can you decide if a charity is worth your money? It really has to ring true to you. 

So what can I take away from the Kony video? 

1. This is really happening in Africa. And it's not just in Uganda. One of the reasons that the movie, Blood Diamond, made such an impact on me was the fact that children are being kidnapped by militia groups for different purposes. Some are rebel forces, some are for the trade of diamonds, and it keeps going. Women are being brutalized and raped. So, is this video bad? No. I think that we, as Americans, should be informed about what's going on in the world. 

2. Should we be careful in how we want to help? Yes. Sometimes, we want to place American ideals on the rest of the world and we have to remember that what we want and think is normal is not always right for another country. By helping, what I would like to do is make sure that we are helping people get clean water, healthy food, empowering people by teaching them a trade that can be used to support the family, help them get an education, etc. 

I think that it's important for me to be aware that people need help all over the world, and that I need to always consider there are two, maybe three, maybe four sides to a story before making an assumption and then listen to my heart because it will tell me what's right and guide me where I need to go.