For Belton High School junior Kimber Coon, the thought of her 7-year-old brother carrying an AK-47 assault rifle was chilling. She said a documentary called “Invisible Children” turned her heart toward the displaced children of Uganda and she wants to dedicate her life to making their lives better.
The war in Uganda is between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army made up primarily of children. Most of Uganda’s northern people now live in displacement camps where 1,000 people die every week due to poor living conditions, according to the Invisible Children Corp.
“It is a war where children are the victims and children are the soldiers,” Ms. Coon said. “It really turned my world around. It made me think about how lucky we are in America to have all of these privileges and how we get to grow up and go to school for free.
“If we lived there my little brother would have been kidnapped and we wouldn’t know whether he would be killed or be one of the ones to kidnap children his own age,” she said.
Belton High School is involved in the Schools for Schools program through Invisible Children and helps to support Pabbo Secondary School, which serves one of the largest displacement camps. The funds that Belton raised last year paid for fresh water wells to keep people from dying because of infected water. New textbooks paid for by Belton High School allow students not have to share a book with 10 other students. Belton’s club has raised $3,400 this year to help construct a new school building.
She laughs at the idea that high schoolers can’t make a difference. “That’s a lie, just because you are a high schooler doesn’t mean you can’t change something. In the ’70s all the young people ended the war in Vietnam and that’s what we’re doing. If we didn’t do anything, no one else would know anything about it.”
Belton’s Invisible Children club sponsor, Elora Ramirez, said Ms. Coon is one of the most outspoken members and her positive attitude has kept them going. She has organized change drives, hat sales, and is arranging a benefit concert.
Through her passion and commitment, out of 15,000 students enrolled in the Schools for Schools program, she is one of 25 semifinalists to go to Washington, D.C., with the creators of the documentary. If she makes it to the top 10 she will get the chance to implore government officials to help end the 20-year war in Uganda. She will then ultimately have the chance to go to Uganda this summer; however, she said she plans to go on to Africa even if she is not selected. She agreed it would be a hard life, “but it’s worth it,” she said.
Ms. Ramirez, a Belton High School English teacher, nominated Ms. Coon for the award. Her introduction to the Africa-bound Beltonian was brief, but sweet. She came into Ms. Ramirez’s classroom one day, carrying a jar covered in stickers and peace slogans, plopped it on her desk and said “here’s $50 for Uganda.”
Belton High School’s goal this year is to reach $10,000 by next week, and while it is a daunting challenge Ms. Coon is keeping spirits high.
“Even though we have so far to go, Kimber is still in my room cheering people on. It doesn’t matter if we don’t get $10,000 because think of the people we have told and all the changes we have made.”
Ms. Ramirez loves to see Ms. Coon’s eyes light up when she talks about Uganda.
“This is what Invisible Children does to students,” Ms. Ramirez said. “The students connect with those students overseas because they know what it’s like to be lonely. Even though they don’t know what it’s like to hold a gun, they know what it’s like to be alone and not be understood.”
For more information about Invisible Children and the Belton High School fundraising drive, visit the Web site at http://s4s.invisiblechildren.com/school/belton-high-school.
