August 6, 2010
On Saturday, several hundred people overflowed the sanctuary of Bethel Baptist Church in Wilmington, Del., as they gathered for a memorial celebration that honored Nate Henn.
Henn, 25, was a devoted volunteer with Invisible Children Inc., a non-profit organization that aids children, especially child soldiers, impacted by northern Uganda's 23-year war. He was in Uganda visiting workers when he died.
Henn was watching the World Cup finals on July 11 at Kyadondo Rugby Club in the city of Kampala. Kyadondo. Suicide bombers working with the Somali-based al Shabaab terror group detonated inside the club, killing more than 70 people. Henn, who was visiting Ugandan friends he met through Invisible children, was among those killed.
Brightly-colored flowers, photos of Henn, a Boston Red Sox hat, an American flag and a Ugandan flag decorated the church podium for the memorial service. Countless family and friends, including Henn's parents, Julie and Bob Henn; his siblings, Ryan, Kyle and Brynne Henn; and girlfriend Stephanie Thompson attended the ceremony.
"Invisible Children is an organization that really allows people personally to get involved in affecting the world, and Nathan lived that out fully," Brynne said in a phone interview last Thursday. "He saw a chance to make a difference and he wanted to give everything to make that difference happen."
Nate Henn worked closely alongside a Ugandan named Innocent, who gave him the Acholi name "Oteka," which means "the strong one." Nate's ultimate dream was to travel to Uganda. This trip was his first visit to the country.
"This northern Ugandan name signifies that he was a guy who was strong with his courage, life and values and what he wanted to live for," said Josh Elwell, a staff writer for Invisible Children. The group held their own memorial service for Nate several weeks ago in San Diego.
"Nate was a roadie on our national tour last fall. He went back out on tour this past spring on the Legacy Tour, a tour that featured Ugandan's on each route that was going out, so he traveled with Innocent, who is part of our Bracelet videos," said Elwell. "He formed a solid connection with Innocent while they were out there. He was a able to show Innocent America and he took the opportunity to go to Uganda this summer."
Prior to his trip, he tirelessly spent much of his time for more than a year and a half serving as a non-paid roadie and tour booking assistant with Invisible Children. As a roadie, Henn traveled the country, showed the documentary and raised money for Uganda.
Brynne said that the service was not going to focus on her brother's death. "We want it to be something that's not somber, but a celebration," she said. "Nathan discussed with his friends in college what he wanted at his funeral. He said he wanted everyone to wear neon. We sent out a message to people to wear a little piece of neon when they come to the memorial celebration," she said. "The other thing is he was obsessed with ‘Glee', so we put a song from ‘Glee' (Charlie Chaplin's "Smile") into the ceremony as well."
"Nate was following God's will for his life—doing exactly what God made him for," said Alex Crain, a friend of the Henn family who was also Nate's pastor at Bethel Baptist Church while he attended University of Delaware. "I spoke with Nate in December 2009, while he was on Christmas break from his work with Invisible Children. I saw a young man who was excited about changing the world; fully persuaded, not only of the reality of God, but that he was in right relationship to Him through faith in Christ."
Many have taken notice of Henn's work. On July 21, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) introduced H. Res. 1538 condemning the World Cup bombings in Kampala. The resolution also recognized San Diego activist Nate "Oteka" Henn who died in the terrorist attacks.
"Nate was an inspiration to many and committed his life to helping others, particularly the children of Uganda," said Davis. "He gave his life for the cause of peace and justice. He will not be forgotten and we will honor him by carrying on his work of bringing an end to the violence and suffering in Uganda and the region."
At least 66,000 youth are thought to have been forcibly recruited into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), according to the recently released World Development Report.
"Invisible Children at the core of it is trying to end a war," said Elwell.
The organization has done a lot of work this year that has continued to raise awareness and to raise action to end the use of child soldiers and the slaughters that are going on in Congo.
Invisible Children also recently reported that on May 24, President Obama signed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act into law. This historic legislation gives the President 180 days to produce a strategy for the United States to help end the LRA's campaign of violence and abductions in central Africa. Invisible Children's executive director, CEO, and two main filmmakers took part in a public ceremony for the act.
Nate Henn was first introduced to Invisible Children as a student at the University of Delaware. There, he saw a screening of the movie documentary Invisible Children: Rough Cut.
"He came home and he said ‘You love Africa, watch this documentary," Brynne said. "The minute the movie ended, for me personally, I said, ‘I know I am only 15, but this organization provides me a way to change the world. So, I got involved with it immediately." Just a few weeks later, Brynne organized a screening of the documentary for the youth group at Bethel Baptist. After Brynne finished high school, she too went and worked with Invisible Children as a Roadie.
Elwell described Nate Henn as a friend, faithful worker and a devoted member of Invisible Children.
"It was such a beautiful, reciprocal exchange, from him being able to show Innocent America and for him to have that week with Innocent, being able to see Uganda before the bomb happened," Elwell said.
"Nate was a guy whose life completely reflected humility, service, love and courage," he continued. "He simply wanted to share the story about what is going on in northern Uganda with child soldiers, with the education programs set up over there that are attempting to rehabilitate a lot of what's been torn down by over twenty years of war. This is a guy who completely dedicated himself to what we are doing and ultimately, he gave up his life to be out there and to continue living that experience."
Nate's family wants other people to have the opportunity to speak with their life the way Nate did. In a family statement, they wrote,
"People ask us how they can help or what they can do, and we know Nate's heart was for making the world a better place. Nate's legacy is the pursuit of peace and a future for the children of Uganda and the Congo. With just 25 years, Christ blessed him with a heart for the oppressed, and because of that he has touched lives in the U.S. and in Uganda. We hope people will feel compelled to join his legacy and support others to live this life of service."
The Nate "Oteka" Henn Memorial Fund has been set up to support the Roadie internship with Invisible Children and the awareness efforts to which Nate dedicated his life.
For more information, visit:
http://www.natehenn.com
http://www.invisiblechildren.com
http://www.resolveuganda.org
