Resolve Uganda began as the Uganda Conflict Action Network (also referred to as Uganda-CAN) and was an online monitoring and analysis project seeking to raise awareness of the suffering caused by the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...

insurgency of northern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The campaign began in 2005. In early 2007, Uganda-CAN became Resolve Uganda, a full-scale organization aimed at securing the US leadership needed to end the war through grassroots efforts and lobbying initiatives.

History

Two

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

students traveling abroad in

formed the Uganda Conflict Action Network in 2005. While overseas, Peter Quaranto and Michael Poffenberger became aware of the 19-year-long warfare atrocities caused by the

(LRA). This hidden war left thousands of people dead, over 25,000 children abducted, and roughly 1.6 million people in camps of horrific conditions. Inspired by the suffering of the oppressed Ugandans, they worked together to create Uganda-CAN upon their return to the states. Quaranto and Poffenberger recognized the influence that Americans could have on the Ugandan government to bring a peaceful resolution to the war. Th
Africa Faith and Justice Network
based in Washington, sponsored the organization. The purpose was to educate policymakers about what was taking place, with the hope that increased awareness amongst political leaders would lead to the action necessary to end the crisis. Uganda-CAN advocated peace and the renewal of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region of Africa, while stressing the importance of a government that answers to the needs of its most vulnerable citizens. The staff and volunteers of Uganda-CAN have worked to form partnerships in Congress and with other African related organizations in Washington as well as Ugandan organizations.

Evolution

Uganda-CAN originally provided information about the LRA crisis and recommendations on how to solve it in hopes that political leaders would take action. The founders quickly realize that would not be enough. Because of competing priorities and no organized mobilization of citizens, few elected leaders were motivated or felt they had a public mandate to help end a violent conflict affecting remote communities in Africa. Making a change would take using the knowledge gained on the crisis to create nationwide awareness and advocacy campaigns. Resolve Uganda took the place of Uganda-CAN in 2006 in hopes to. When the LRA attacked the neighboring border regions of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, the organization opted to become known simply as Resolve in 2010. Resolve now works towards advancing policy change, forming partnerships with organizations such as

Invisible Children ''Invisible Children'' is a 2006 American documentary film that depicts the human rights abuses by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Synopsis In the spring of 2003, Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole traveled to Africa to document ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, and

Refugees International Refugees International (RI) is an independent humanitarian organization that advocates for better support for displaced people (including refugees and internally displaced people) and stateless people. It does not accept any United Nations or gove ...

.Our Partners, Who We Work With. TheResolve.org Retrieved 2012-03-19

References

{{Reflist
Uganda Conflict Action Network"''
Human Security Report Project. 25 Oct. 2005. Web. * P. Quaranto

World Learning. 2 June 2005 *Jones, Ingrid J.

Uganda Watch. 11 June 2005.
Our Partners, Who We Work With
TheResolve.org Retrieved 2012-03-19
Who We Are, Our Origins
TheResolve.org Retrieved 2012-03-19

External links

Resolve Website
Charities based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 2005 Human rights organizations based in the United States Foreign charities operating in Uganda Lord's Resistance Army 2005 establishments in Uganda

History

Evolution

See also

References

External links