African NFP Counters Kony 2012

The Mara Foundation short film aims to highlight the beauty and attractions of Uganda.

An African Not for Profit social enterprise has launched a short video to counter the impact of the Invisible Children's Kony Videos.

The Not for Profit Mara Foundation says it wants to show a very different Uganda to that depicted in the viral "Kony 2012" video with its own "Uganda 2012 – More Than Kony 2012".

The Foundation says the three-minute video summarises Uganda and the vast opportunities that exist in tourism, business and lifestyle to counter the negative impression of the country created by Invisible Children's viral video which it believes may have damaged Uganda's reputation for years to come.

The Foundation credits the "Kony 2012" video with surpassing all expectations in raising awareness of the activities of warmonger Joseph Kony, but says it simultaneously created an impression in the minds of many that Uganda today is unsafe and unstable, whereas the reality is very different.

The Invisible Children’s Kony campaign to bring accused war criminal Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebels, to justice went gone viral on the internet worldwide.

Joseph Kony is described as one of the world’s worst war criminals and is wanted by the International Criminal Court. His rebels include a core of hardened fighters infamous for mutilating civilians and abducting children to act as soldiers and sex-slaves.

While the Foundation says it hopes that its video does not downplay the goal of capturing Kony, it wants to present a more balanced representation of Uganda that many Ugandans feel they rightly deserve.

The Mara Foundation says that their aim is that the hundred million people who watched "Kony 2012" view "Uganda 2012 – more than Kony 2012" as well, and see a very different story of the country.

Founder of the Mara Group and Mara Foundation, Ashish Thakkar, who was recently selected as a Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum, says: "As a passionate advocate of Africa, and most especially Uganda, I want the world to view Uganda as it is – beautiful, serene, and entrepreneurial.”

“We have had enough of people trying to create a negative impression of us as a continent and fundraising on the back of it."

The Mara Foundation is the Mara Group's Not for Profit social enterprise for emerging African entrepreneurs, focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. The Mara Group is a pan-African multisector business involved in information and communication technology, real estate and hospitality, manufacturing and services on three continents.

You can watch the Mara Foundation video on YouTube. 

For information on the Mara Foundation go to the website.