“Captured by Nkunda’s rebel army, some boys not big enough to hold a gun were given merely a whistle and put on the front lines of battle. Their sole duty was to make enough noise to scare the enemy and then receive – with their bodies – the first round of bullets. Lines of boys fell as nothing more than a temporary barricade.” - Sean Carasso, Falling Whistles

Amongst my aimless internet wanderings late last night I happened upon an initiative called Falling Whistles. This is a charity dedicated to helping child soldiers in the Congo escape and gain freedom; they do this by helping people who are leaders in the community of re-educated, clothing, feeding and loving these children that have seen so much.

The child’s mind can be very fragile and even witnessing something like war can have a profound effect on how they grow up. Now imagining a child who has to go through participating in a war and things become even more complicated. It is my belief that we need to fight for those who may not be strong enough to fight for themselves. Falling Whistles is a great initiative that takes a symbol of death for children in the Congo, and changes it to being “a whistleblower for peace,” or rather a symbol of justice.

For someone who is living in the first world like we are, it is hard to imagine how someone could go through something so horrible like war. That is why it is important to seek out and help aid initiatives like this, people who are actually making a difference. And by using the whistles it creates a physical representation of what the donator is fighting for, that way people will take notice and ask “hey, what is that?” and you can tell them how you’re helping to fight the battle and save children in the Congo.