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From InvisibleChildren.com:

WE ARE A GLOBAL MOVEMENT

We are storytellers, activists and everyday people who use the power of media to inspire young people to help end the longest running armed conflict in Africa. We make documentaries, tour them around the world, and lobby our nation’s leaders to make ending this conflict a priority.

But we don’t stop there. Our development professionals from Central Africa partner with local communities to implement and maintain education programs and economic initiatives in the war affected region. Recovering communities require stability when it comes to education and economic initiatives, but the ever-changing conflict demands innovative solutions and quick mobilization. Our initiatiatives attempt to meet the region's need for both stability and flexibility.

 This is the text from Invisible Children about "What We Do".  I highlighted in red the parts of this that concern me.  First off, they're making documentaries, traveling around on tours, advertising their message to young people, and lobbying national leaders.  All of this costs money.  This isn't just chump change either.  So who is this money coming from?  It must be coming from people who donate to this organization.  What bothers me, is exactly how much of what is being donated goes to the actual cause and how much is spent on the business tools from the first paragraph.

 "Development professional"...what does that even mean?  Who pays for their trip and living expenses in Africa?  Do they receive a salary? If we're going to get on that topic, how does anyone who is a part of this company receive a salary?  Is the answer the people who are donating to them?  If so, then what is the ethical dilemma here?  When does an organization become a corporation and when does it become wrong for them to turn profit from their donations? 

As you can tell, I have a lot of questions about the validity of this campaign and the people behind it.  It just really worries me that so many people can jump into a cause with so many question marks.  Even through doing a lot of research, what is true and what is not is very unclear.  It all comes down to what each individual wants to believe about this cause.  The fact that there is so much political and financial mystique around something that sad and inhumane really saddens me.  Questioning the ethics of Invisible Children, its affiliates and the media tools they use to gain support is just the tip of the iceberg.

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