Resources Information Socialization Education
RISE News #3
April 2008
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your continued support of RISE International. In the following newsletter we will be giving you an update on what's new and what's been happening in the past few months.
First we want to extend our congratulations to one of our directors, Kristi LaMattery, on the birth of her beautiful baby girl.
Rise Incorporation in the US
On March 17, 2008, RISE International Foundation was incorporated as a domestic, not for profit corporation in the State of New York. Our thanks to YooKyeong Kwon and Victoria Manoushagian of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP for helping us to set up RISE pro bono. RISE International is now officially registered both in the UK and the US. We next plan to apply to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Update on the Memorial Day on August 10th, 2008
In preparation for the International Lost Children Memorial Day, Juliana made a trip to Gulu in the North of Uganda this February to meet with Emmanuel Mwaka, the director of United Youth Action for Progress (UYAP). Emmanuel will be the representative for RISE in Uganda. He will be coordinating the Memorial Event on August 10th in Gulu to remember the many thousands of children who died as a result of the Lord's Resistance Army - a rebel, cultic group fighting the government of Uganda for the past 20 years.
Juliana and Emmanuel met with the king of the Acholi tribe and he has agreed to host the Memorial Day event on his palace grounds and will officiate over the event. A number of popular local musicians will be performing at the event, which will be televised. The king has also donated two buildings in the Acholi Cultural Centre for the purpose of creating a permanent memorial museum.
On the 11th of February, Emmanuel and Juliana also held a press conference about the upcoming event, which was broadcast over the local radio stations for 3 days and featured in the New Vision and Monitor newspapers.
United Youth Action for Progress
As mentioned above, UYAP will be the affiliate of Rise International in Uganda and we will work together with them on various projects such as:
- Scholarships to allow thousands of children affected by the war to go to school.
- The rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-child soldiers and children affected by the LRA fighting.
- Mobile medical clinics to go through the internal displacement camps. The clinics will provide basic medical care, health education, and counselling for traumatized children.
For more information on UYAP, please visit http://www.uyapgulu.org
Here are some pictures from Juliana's visit to to Uganda. More images can be found in the RISE International Photo Archive.
Upcoming Conferences
On April 17, 2008, Juliana will join a panel discussion about second-generation children in cults at the annual INFORM conference in London. Juliana will be presenting and raising awareness of RISE's goals as stated in our mission statement. On June 28, 2008 directors Alexandra Stein and Juliana Buhring will attend the ICSA annual conference in Philadelphia and will participate in a panel discussion titled 'Growing Up in Cults: the special issues of children in cults and second generation cult members.'
By attending these conferences we hope to help bring awareness to academics and professionals in this field, as so far there is little accurate research and information that reflects the views of many second generation and the challenges that are unique to this demography.
Educational Presentation Now Available for Bookings
Over the past few months, we have been working to put together a presentation that is now in it's final stages of completion and will be available to book online via our website. The presentation will discuss the special problems of children in cults. It will define and describe the different types of cults, how they are structured and operate, and why children in such groups may be at risk of abuse, neglect, or educational deficits. It will also discuss the long-term consequences for persons born or raised in these closed groups. This presentation will be useful to those working with children and youth and will stimulate discussion on how best to protect children in cults as well as how to help those who have left the groups in which they were raised.
Sponsorship for Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb
Our first major fundraiser is an ambitious one - scaling the tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. RISE International director Juliana Buhring will be making the seven-day climb to the summit on June 14, 2008. The proceeds raised from the climb will go towards RISE International's projects: the rehabilitation and education of ex-child soldiers in Northern Uganda, and the International Lost Children Memorial Day on August 10th,, as well as upcoming conference fees. Juliana will be posting news about the climb on her blog.
Sponsorship can be done online or by mail. Please visit our Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb page for more information and to download printable sponsorship forms you can use to to recruit others to be sponsors.
Our next newsletter will be the end of May, where will be giving specific details for those who would like to be part of the Lost Children Memorial Day in San Diego, London and Uganda.
Our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has donated towards RISE International’s projects; we would not be able to run without your help! We look forward to accomplishing a lot this year and will continue to keep you updated as we go along.
