Some years in the future, if and when Innocent Opwonya becomes president of a democratic and united Uganda, he'll have the children of America, and of the Lakes Region, to thank.

Only 20-years-old, Opwonya already has had a remarkable life.

At the age of 10, he and his father were kidnapped from their hometown in northern Uganda by the rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The young Opwonya was trained to shoot a rifle and forced to fight the government that the LRA has tried to overthrow for 24 years.

Opwonya attempted to escape twice from the LRA. The first time he was beaten so severely he could not move for a week. He was resolved, however, to return to his mother, believing his father had long ago been killed by the LRA, and he eventually made a harrowing escape, fleeing from southern Sudan where he was in the bush with the LRA, to his family in Uganda.

To prevent his being seized again by the LRA, Opwonya joined other youths in his region who would "night commute," walking miles each night to escape the LRA bands.

One of Uganda's 'Invisible Children', Innocent Opwonya, left, and his mentor, Omara Christo Balmoyi, speak to an audience at the Lakes Region Vineyard Church in Laconia Friday night. (Paige McGuinness Sturgeon/For The Citizen) Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

In 2003, three young American filmmakers went to the Sudan to find an adventure and what they found after turning south were the "Invisible Children" — the victims of the LRA's brutal policies, in the process also recording powerful images of thousands of youths gathering underground and at bus stations to sleep in the relative safety of numbers.

That trip seven years ago led to the creation of the documentary, "Invisible Children: Rough Cut", a film that has been shown at thousands of venues to millions of people — including this week at Laconia High School and Friday evening at the Lakes Region Vineyard Church in Lakeport.

The documentary also fueled a website at www.invisiblechildren.com and, most recently, the Legacy Scholarship Fund whose premise is that teaching Ugandans, like Opwonya, is the best way to raise a new generation of Ugandan leaders to raise up their troubled land.

Opwonya wants to be in the forefront of that generation. Of the 60 youths who, like him, were kidnapped and taken by the LRA to camps in the Sudan, only 48 survived the training. He said he fired a gun at Ugandan troops but doesn't know if he struck anyone.

Now studying statistics and economics at Kampala International University, Opwonya is a living testament to the Legacy Scholarship Fund. He and his Ugandan scholarship fund mentor, Omara Christo Balmoyi, are on a 10-week tour of the Northeast sponsored by Invisible Children and they found a receptive audience at the Lakes Region Vineyard Church, many of whose parishioners pressed them about ways to help.

Vineyard Church members and musicians Eric Shanley, left, and Katrina Aucoin, 'Awaken Me', help bring social injustice issues to the community and sing and welcome the 'Invisible Children' organization on Friday. (Paige McGuinness Sturgeon/For The Citizen) Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

Americans can help, said Opwonya and Balmoyi, in several ways — among them by making a monthly $35 donation to the Legacy Scholarship Fund. The amount is equivalent to what it costs to send a student to a secondary school. It costs $65 a month to send someone to university.

Balmoyi, who also is head engineer for the IC's Schools for Schools program, which attempts to match schools around the world with those rebuilding in northern Uganda, said an entire generation of youths in that country is illiterate and the few who can read and write are finding their opportunities extremely limited, making them vulnerable and susceptible to the siren song of illegal activities.

Education, said Balmoyi, is the best way to help Uganda develop a peaceful, sustainable country and Opwonya is a true believer.

"I feel my dream is really going to be achieved," Opwonya told his audience Friday evening, although he expressed sadness and guilt for the many Ugandans who don't have the same opportunity as he does.

Balmoyi said that, when Opwonya becomes president of Uganda, "he'll be indebted to the children of the United States."

Innocent Opwonya, one of Uganda's 'Invisible Children', speaks of his experience overcoming the hardships in Uganda. His visit was sponsored by the Legacy Scholarship fund which paid for his education in Uganda and allowed him to tell his story in hopes of helping other children in Uganda. (Paige McGuinness Sturgeon/For The Citizen) Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

He then asked the Lakes Region Vineyard Church members for their prayers and to "join us onboard and give a helping hand to rebuild our community again."