For American students, commuting results in little hardship besides traffic jams and inconveniently located parking lots. For Ugandan students like Sunday Douglas, however, the term has a whole other significance.

Douglas, a a 20-year-old self-described “night commuter,” was forced as a child to commute by night to a displacement camp to avoid abduction by a rebel force called the Lord’s Resistance Army. He recounted his experiences to a crowd of students in Stamp Student Union last night as part of the Face-to-Face Tour, a nationwide series in which Ugandan students — including former child soldiers, displaced persons and night commuters like Douglas — speak to their American peers about their war-torn pasts and hopes for the future.

The event was hosted by this university’s chapter of Invisible Children, a group that advocates for an ending the use of child soldiers and the creation of a peaceful environment in Northern Uganda.

More than 150 students filled Hoff Theater last night to listen to Douglas’ story and view a screening of an Invisible Children documentary film, called “Go,” which featured high school students involved in Invisible Children who traveled to Uganda to see the results of their fundraising efforts.

Douglas and another Ugandan speaker, Komakech Lawrence, emphasized the positive influence Invisible Children has had in the region, saying the money the group provided has given children a chance for education they otherwise wouldn’t have.

“Many of the students I went to school with were abducted in the process of going to school or coming home,” said Lawrence. “All these children are coming back, and the war has left them in absolute poverty. They don’t have any way to pay their school fees.”

Thanks to the Legacy Scholarship Program, set up by Invisible Children to provide talented students with funds for college, Douglas is able to afford higher education.

“Now, I am not invisible, because of your support,” he said.

Students said they left the event feeling spurred to action.

“I have a lot of friends who do missionary work in Africa, and now I’m wondering if there’s a way I can get involved. It was really moving,” said freshman government and politics major Sandy Shaker.

Sophomore law enforcement major Bethany Petersen echoed her sentiment.

“I admire the Ugandan people for staying strong and being resilient,” she said. “It’s definitely an emotional thing for me.”

While their primary goal was to educate students, members of Invisible Children said they hoped the event would recruit some new members to the organization as well.

“If even one person that might not have been interested [in Invisible Children] before comes and decides to join, that would be great,” said sophomore English and art major Therese Holland, who serves as secretary of Invisible Children. “We are a small group that really wants to grow.”

Holland, who has been involved with the group since fall of her freshman year, said its basic purpose is to inform people of a situation infrequently discussed on college campuses.

“We’re trying, first and foremost, to spread awareness about child soldiering in Uganda,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in activist causes, and to me it just seemed like something important, something that people should know about.”

Holland added that although Invisible Children has held screenings before, she thought the extra element of Ugandan student speakers would make last night’s event even more successful.

“It’s just more personal,” she said.

That personal factor was possible because of Schools for Schools, an Invisible Children campaign that involves over 1,000 schools across America raising money for 11 different Ugandan secondary schools. Each of the speakers for “Face-to-Face” attends one of the 11 schools.

Senior art history major and coordinator of this university’s Schools for Schools project Kyla McMillan said the project provides invaluable aid to resurrect Uganda’s educational system, including the Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School — this university’s sponsor institution.

“It started because Invisible Children wanted to make sure the former child soldiers had a stable place for education when they were able to go back to their communities,” she said. “Now it provides money for resources like clean water, books, dorms, and eating facilities for these schools.”

Members of Invisible Children said they hope to stage more participatory events in addition to screenings in the future. Holland said one possibility is a displacement camp night on the mall, where students live for a night like the Ugandans forced out of their homes by the rebel army.

Invisible Children is in the process of planning and obtaining the necessary permits to hold this event, Holland said.

kirkwood at umdbk dot com