Invisible Children, the organization that made the viral
video Kony 2012, will likely cease to exist at some point in 2015, the
nonprofit's leadership says.
It's been just two years since Invisible Children — once a
tiny, little-known San Diego nonprofit — made Kony 2012, which highlighted the
atrocities of Central African warlord Joseph Kony. The video attracted more
than 100 million views in just five days, and helped Invisible Children raise
more than $30 million.
Now, in a statement, the group's leaders say they've
accomplished many of their goals:
"Invisible Children has seen incredible strides toward
the achievement of its mission — a permanent end to LRA [Lord's Resistance
Army] violence. ... While Kony is still being pursued by regional security
forces, the unprecedented political momentum galvanized by Invisible Children
dedicated activists has helped secure and maintain an international coalition,
working toward ending the LRA's violence and bringing Kony to justice. As a
result of these collective efforts, three of the five ICC [International
Criminal Court]-indicted senior LRA commanders have been removed from the
battlefield in the last three years, and LRA-affected communities in central and
east Africa have experienced a significant improvement in safety and livelihood
... "
In an interview with NPR, Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesey
said he knew Invisible Children would end at some point. "We never built
Invisible Children to be something that would last forever," Keesey said.
"Frankly, we thought it would be a one- or two-year project."
But, he admits, the organization has not accomplished one of
its biggest goals. "You know, we've seen radical progress," Keesey
said. "But it's never come with that signature win of a Joseph Kony
capture." npr
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