To those who have seen the Kony 2012 video...

Have you wanted to do something more than post about it on Facebook?  Or have you felt skeptical of the organization that made the video?

Please understand there are things you can do in your city to help survivors of war and persecution. There are refugees who have fled men like Kony living in your city. They are men, women and children from Congo, from Burma, Bhutan, Iraq and elsewhere who are now your neighbors. You don’t only have to watch a video and feel sad for their fate and hope someone does something. You get to meet them and talk to them, share a meal with them and learn from them.

Google refugee resettlement programs in your area and go volunteer. Help someone learn to ride the bus, help them look for a job. Those who felt led, by all means send money to organizations who work with former child soldiers and victims of war abroad, but spend your time with the people who are now living with us. I guarantee your life will be enriched by it.

~ Daniel Sauve

Daniel Sauve is an Employment Specialist at ECDC’s African Community Center, http://www.acc-den.org/ , in Denver, Colorado.  He is also the founder of metroAfrican, http://www.metroafrican.com/ , an online journal covering Metro Denver’s African Communities, highlighting positive contributions Africans are making in Denver and throughout the diaspora in the areas of entrepreneurship, the arts, civic engagement, health and education.