Seventeen-year-old Ethan Hamilton wants to change the world. So on a chilly spring night last April, Ethan painted a red X on the front of his white T-shirt, packed up his sleeping bag and camped out in a cardboard box on a hill outside Denver. That same night, more than 68,000 other young people in 10 U.S. cities slept in cardboard boxes to make a statement: They care about bringing awareness to a forgotten group of children in the African country of Uganda.
They care about children like 8-year-old Tony, who walks several miles every night to sleep in a damp earthen hallway underneath a hospital. As Tony drifts off to sleep, he has nightmares that he’ll be abducted and forced to serve as a child soldier in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group intent on overthrowing the Ugandan government and wiping out the Acholi people.
Tony’s older brother was abducted and killed by the LRA, one of thousands killed in the 21-year guerrilla war. And in a desperate attempt simply to survive over the past two decades, Tony and thousands of other children have commuted into cities at night. Their rural homes have offered little safety, so these children, many of them orphans, have traveled without parents into urban areas. They’ve become known as the “invisible children,” and they sleep lined up like sardines, packed into hospital hallways, outdoor verandas and in refugee camps—wherever they can find protection by sleeping in large numbers. As they fight for space each night, they deal with the overwhelming fear that the rebel army might kidnap them and put a gun in their hands, torturing and brainwashing them to become killing machines.
Ethan and thousands of American young people are speaking up on behalf of children like Tony. They’re part of Invisible Children, a grassroots movement to raise awareness and draw attention to the plight of these children, all in an effort to pressure the Ugandan government to take action.
Fortunately, it seems that these efforts are paying off. The Ugandan military declared this summer that the LRA had been pushed out of the nation. Refugees had begun returning to their homes, and wounded soldiers were undergoing rehabilitation. Though stability is hard to come by in many African regions, it seems that the seeds of peace are being sown in Uganda. Still, there is much healing and rebuilding to be done.
Last April, Invisible Children sponsored Displace Me, an event that allowed Americans to simulate life and the temporary shelter of the children living in overcrowded refugee camps. The group hopes that such events will also put pressure on the U.S. government to get involved in protecting the children who live this reality every day.
“The older generations have labeled us lazy and rebellious,” Ethan says. “But I think we’re being called to start a revolution. [Other] people are impressed with this generation for taking the initiative on such an important issue and becoming actively involved.”
An African Adventure
Invisible Children started with three 20-something students armed with film equipment purchased on eBay. Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole went to Africa in 2003 on a filmmaking adventure, looking for a story to tell. Stranded in Uganda, they found the invisible children. The situation touched the guys deeply, and they interviewed children who, with tears running down their cheeks, told what it’s like to fall asleep every night fearing abduction.
The result was Invisible Children: Rough Cut, an hour-long DVD that sheds light on these forgotten refugees (and also shows the guys blowing up a termite hill, killing a snake and puking from dehydration).
Ethan first saw the film in his Bible-study group. He had actually traveled to Uganda before with a missions team from his church.
“When I saw the film, I immediately thought of children I knew personally who were affected by the war,” Ethan says. “And I felt a desperate need to take action. I feel a calling to support an end to the war that has destroyed so many lives. The stories I learned when I traveled to Uganda will stay with me forever. So the Displace Me gathering of more than 4,000 teens in Denver for a single purpose and a common goal was an incredible experience.”
Lend Your Voice
During the Displace Me event, each person received a few saltine crackers and a bottle of water to sustain him during the evening, all part of the simulation of life in refugee camps.
“To be totally honest, sleeping in a cardboard box and eating only saltines and water for a night was a blast,” Ethan says. “But it was humbling to realize that it might just be a one-night campout for me, but there are children who make the five-mile commute every day. They sleep in conditions far worse. In the midst of all the fun I was having supporting the cause, I never forgot how humbling it was.”
Part of the fun for Ethan was realizing that he was not alone in his desire to help others around the world.
“I thought I was one of the few who knew or cared about the situation in northern Uganda,” he says. “But seeing the sheer number of people who showed up to support such a worthy cause, many on their prom night, was really pressed upon my heart. Learning that a video of Displace Me would be shown in front of Congress was really cool. [During the event], the 21 minutes of silence (representing 21 years of war) was a chance for me to be intimate with the Lord in prayer and really call out to Him for action.”
Ethan admits that it’s easy to use the excuse, I’m only one teenager; what can I do to help a problem on the other side of the world? But he says his faith has given him courage to know that his voice will be heard.
“I’ve seen the accomplishments of the people in Uganda and the ground they’re gaining in the fight against injustice,” he says. “And I’m constantly reminded of the power of the Lord and His faithfulness to the weak, as in Psalm 10.”
Ethan and the thousands of other teens who gave up the comfort of their own beds to sleep in a cardboard box in support of children an entire continent away are world-changers. Alone they are one voice, but together they are a powerful chorus, urging justice for those who can’t fight for themselves. You can lend your voice to change your world, whether it’s defending African children or working toward another God-honoring cause in your community.
“As Christian guys, we should be on fire to serve God,” Ethan says. “And what better way than serving others? It doesn’t matter if we’re involved with Invisible Children by representing those without a voice or giving Bibles to the homeless downtown. We should serve as we can.” 
