Progress Report

As Invisible Children supporters you have proven time and time again that you are willing to respond at a moment’s notice to help the victims of the LRA. This month’s ϟ  Flash Action Alert ϟ is a perfect example of this community rallying to see quick effective action. Here’s the quick recap of events. To everyone of you who responded, thank you.

May 9, 2013

Flash Alert 

Near Djabir, DR Congo

A group of hunters ran into a group of LRA and immediately fled, though the LRA were not acting aggressive or violent. Later that day, a letter was found by the road from the LRA group stating that they wanted to surrender.

Ten days later

An LRA member (male) and an abducted 15-year-old girl stopped a civilian man as he was traveling along the Dungu-Faradje road in DR Congo. The man said he wished to surrender to security forces and he freed the girl as a sign of his sincerity. The man then fled.

Flash Action

More than 600 people responded to the alert that an LRA group wanted to surrender and donated $20,000, which funded the design and production of approximately 20,000 “come home” fliers. That same weekend, with the help of partners on the ground and our donors, we were able to print & air-drop 20,000 “come home” fliers over this LRA group’s known location.

79% of LRA who’ve surrendered in the past year cited “come home” fliers as influential in their escape.

May 13, 2013

“We got an early start this morning. We hopped in a plane chartered by dedicated partners, and with calm skies and good visibility successfully dropped 20,000 of these fliers over suspected LRA groups in Garamba National Park. Four locations were targeted with 5,000 fliers settling in each drop zone, giving the LRA clear instructions on how to surrender and assurances that they can come out peacefully.”

- Adam Finck, International Programs Director, reporting from DR Congo

Impact

The flier drop was one part of an ongoing “come-home” mission to encourage this LRA group to surrender. Early indicators  have been positive, with one confirmed surrender in DR Congo and rumors of others. We will be posting updates as soon as we know more.

What Now

We will work with partners to produce and broadcast FM radio messages that reassure LRA members that they can safely surrender.

 89% of escapees said that FM radio messages played a part in their decision to leave the LRA

Help us reach our updated goal of $40K to make this happen.

These messages are recorded by trusted community leaders from northern Uganda and played over radio stations that the LRA are known to listen to. In fact, this LRA group specifically requested reassurance from a man named Lacambel who encouraged LRA fighters to surrender back in the 1990s when the group was active in northern Uganda. Lacambel’s picture was on the defection fliers and he recorded the “come home” FM radio messages himself.

$32 funds the production and broadcast of 20 minutes of “come home” radio programming. If you would like to support this program, donate below.

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Fund This Mission

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As previously reported, the LRA released 28 women and children in Digba, DR Congo on March 21, 2013. According to the LRA Crisis Tracker, the group of 8 women, 13 girls, and 7 boys is the largest group to escape LRA captivity in more than three years.

So, what happened next? In this case MONUSCO DDR/RR (the UN office responsible for assisting LRA combatants and non-combatants to leave the group and return home) acted on information from Invisible Children’s Early Warning Radio Network to facilitate the transport of the women and children from Ango to Dungu. Some of the children have already been connected with UNICEF, who will reunite them with their families.

One of the women reported that prior to their release the group heard Invisible Children’s defection messaging – both through helicopter speakers and FM radio messages. They also reported seeing defection fliers. Invisible Children works with partners on the ground to encourage and facilitate the peaceful surrender of LRA combatants through defection programs and “Come Home” messaging. We believe these initiatives are some of the most effective ways to reduce threats to communities in central Africa and weaken the LRA’s ability to effectively operate. This recent defection solidifies that belief.

For those who have spent years, months, or even hours as a captive of the LRA, coming out of the bush and returning home can be extremely challenging. That’s why, three years ago, Invisible Children met with local leaders on the ground, including Abbe Benoit Kinalegu, to discuss long-term recovery solutions for LRA-affected regions like northeastern DR Congo. As a result of those conversations Invisible Children opened Centre Elikya, a rehabilitation center built specifically for children who have suffered trauma at the hands of the LRA – like the children who were just released on March 21st.

The center, which can accommodate 150 children, was opened at full capacity this year. It focuses on preparing children for successful reintegration into society through trauma counseling, and equipping children to return to school, or, if beyond school age, learning a marketable skill to be used in the workplace.

The overarching goal of Invisible Children is to assist those affected by the LRA by responding to their expressed needs. In addition to the rehabilitation center, Invisible Children Uganda has recovery programs that focus on livelihood, education, skill training, literacy courses, and counseling to aid in restoring and rehabilitating individuals and their communities. Together, we are seeing the promise of better things to come.

Learn more about Center Elikya

Donate

The messages below have been gathered by our Ugandan DDR team and is compiled into a weekly radio show called The World at Home. These individuals have been directly affected by the conflict; their brothers, sisters, daughters and sons have been abducted and now their calls for surrender are broadcast across the region.

Ingeyo maber ni lweny pa LRA pud pe otum, ento lwenyi ongolo wang lobo ocito I Sudan, Congo Ki Central African Republic. Kede ka bed dong pe wawinyo koko muduku I kumalo me Uganda, pud obedo ticwa me kelo kuc ma rii matwal. Mega FM ite yub me dwog paco mini gum me cwalo kwena ni bot jo ma pud gitye ilum. Kace mega FM obino I adwoli, pe lewic omaki, wek kimak dwoni. Kacel, watwero kelo kuc marii.

(World at Home narrator) You are well aware that LRA conflict has not ended, but instead it has crossed borders to Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic. Even if guns are silent in northern Uganda, it is still our responsibility to bring a permanent end to the LRA conflict. Mega FM under Come Home Radio Program gives you an opportunity to send come home messages to those still in the bush. When Mega fm come to your area, do not shy away, let your message be recorded. Together we can bring lasting peace.

Monica Abalo nyara, an Oyugi Odur James ma babani ki kome. Wiya pud poo inino dwe adek I mwaka 1997 ma kimaki tek tek kicwali ilum kun onongo itye kadok igang kwan I Ediofe Girls, angeyo ni in pud itye makwo dok an pe arwenyo gen. Nen an ki jo ma paco kany wapari tutwal. Dwog cen paco latina.

(In his own voice) Monica Abalo my daughter, I am your biological father; Oyugi Odur James. I still remember that fateful day of 3rd October 1997 when you were abducted on your way back to school; Ediofe Girls. I know you are still alive and I have not lost hope. Look, I and the rest of our family members miss you so much. Come home my daughter……..

Ingeyo maber lulweny ma onongo gitegu mada ma calo Otii Vincent, Budema Buk ki Binany ma gukwero winyo lwongo me kuc ci gutoo atta ilum labongo magoba mo. Pe ikwany lanyut megi. Aa woko ki I alany ma itye iye ni ci I dwog paco. Itwero goyo report ikabedo magi ma kiyubu piri maber I Congo ki Central African Republic ma calo Zemio,Kitessa,Mboki, Obo, and Sakure. Kibijoli ka kibi dwoki cen bot lupaco ni. Man lok adaa.

(Narrator) You are aware of your fellow fighters like Otii Vincent, Budema Buk and Binany who refused to listen to the calls of peace and insisted on fighting and they perished without any gain. Do not take their examples. Get off this risky situation and come home. You can report to safe locations like Zemio, Kitessa, Mboki, Obo, and Sakure. You will be welcomed and reunited with your family. This is the truth….

Bicwalo kare ma rom mene kawek unen tar piny ki niang I kom lok adaa? Bicwalo kare ma rom mene ma wabibedo kalok aloka keken ento ngat mo pe niang? An Sam Kolo alwi ci amine icing mony me UPDF ci gularo kwona. Adok cen kakwan I Gulu university, man dong atye ki digiri. Atye maber. In bene ibibedo maber ka idwogo. Man lok adaa. Bwola mo peke iye.

(Brig. Sam Kolo in his voice) How long shall it take you to see the light and understand the truth? How long shall we keep talking the same things, which nobody seems to understand? I Sam Kolo surrendered to the UPDF and they saved my life. I went back to school and attained bachelor degree from Gulu University. I am well. You will be well too if you peacefully surrender. There is no lie about this.

A Brig. Keneth Banya, an Cap. Apire Ray, an Okwonga Alero, an Opio Makasi ki ann Brig. Sam Kolo, An Otim Charles Munu. Wan weng watye maber. Pe iwek ngat mo obwolu pien wan weng watye agnya. Kwany lanyut megwa ci idwog paco pien pe ibinongo aun mo kiken. Man lok adaa. Bwola mo peke iye.

(In their own voices) I am Brig. Kenneth Banya, I am Cap. Apire Ray, I am Okwonga Alero, and I am Brig. Sam Kolo. We are all very well. Let you not be deceived, for we are all free. Take our example and come home because you will not be mistreated. This is the truth. No lie about it!

Click on the below audio icon to hear the clip of a recent radio broadcast, followed by the transcription.

My name is Onekalit Salim, the chairman LCI in Odek Centre. I would like to talk to our children who are still in the bush. I want you to know that I also had my own child with you in the bush. He was forcefully abducted against his will but due to God’s own mercy he came back home and he is very happy at home. When he was abducted he was in P4 but now he has made it to senior four and he will join advance level of education soon. He was welcomed and there is nothing like killing in case you come out. If my son was not here with me I would not tell you lie. But the truth is that my son is back at home and living a good life. I know one of my brother’s sons is still in the bush. Your name is Alung and if you are alive, come back home, take example of your brother who is back at school and almost making it to the university and what are you still waiting for? There is no discrimination here, you have not initiated the war but the people who started it are misleading you for nothing. Just come back home. Thank you.

To become a member of The Fourth Estate and pledge a monthly donation that benefits protection programs like FM Radio messaging, please click [HERE]

Meet some of the team behind our FM Radio program in DR Congo, Central African Republic, and Kampala [HERE]

What’s your name and job title here at Invisible Children?

Sean Poole and I am the Counter-LRA Programs Manager here at IC.

Hi, I’m Sean

Which of our programs fall under that?

I work on most of our programs in central Africa – in DR Congo and Central African Republic. Most of my time is dominated by our defection programming. So figuring out creatively how do we get defection programming into the hands of the LRA. We have some ways that are proven and tested like FM radios but we’re trying to figure out other ways to do it as well such as utilizing helicopter speakers.

News just came out that Vincent Binani, one of the top commanders in the LRA, was killed in combat by the UPDF. You’re really familiar with the LRA command structure, so who was this guy?

He was actually a really important figure. He pretty much ran all of the LRA’s Congo operations out of Garamba National Park, and if you think about the LRA geographically, that’s probably their most important stronghold. They’ve been in Garamba since 2005 using the park not only to move towards communities in Congo and CAR for looting, but also to store supplies, weapons, and ammunition. So it’s a really important location for the LRA and Kony entrusted it to Binani – which says A LOT about his influence. He oversaw the massacre of over 320 people around the communities of Makombo in 2009. That was a three day massacre that took place around one axis, moving from community to community, systematically killing and abducting people along the route.

That actually was a big inspiration for the establishment of the HF Early Warning Network. After the Makombo massacre it took two months for that information to be public to the international community. Nobody really knew that it happened outside of the communities affected and because of that, no security forces of humanitarians responded to it as it was happening. Communities along that route had no warning that their was an LRA group moving towards them.

So we began to establish and identify highly vulnerable communities and put communications equipment in place so that nothing like that could happen again and so that communities could alert humanitarians and security forces of the presence of LRA groups in their area.

You were talking rank versus influence – can you touch on how the age of some of these fighters factors into that influence?

Some of these guys have been in the LRA two plus decades, since its inception. However, Kony is paranoid and is constantly trying to protect himself at the top of that command structure. Whenever he feels threatened by by one of his commanders he does something to reinforce his own authority. So usually what Kony does is take someone younger and close to him, like someone in his protection unit, and promotes them over other senior ranks, and Binani is a case of this. Binani was a part of the HIGH PROTECTION UNIT which is Kony’s group of bodyguards and that may be where some of the confusion is coming from when media outlets have referenced “A Top Bodyguard Was Killed.” He can be seen in the Juba Peace Talk photos standing in the foreground with a weapon protecting Kony and Odhiambo while they sit in the background. He performed well and was given his own command over older, more senior officers and given one of the top commands in the LRA. It’s an example of Kony using these younger guys who are extremely loyal to him. Binani guarded Kony on a regular basis and even from 5,000 miles south, Kony could trust him having seen him put his life on the line for him.

You described how our local partners developed the HF radio network in response to the Makombo massacres. So it seems like IC does react to the changes in the conflict. With Binani off the battlefield, what does IC plan to do to react to that?

It’s a huge deal that Binani was removed – to both civilians threatened by his actions but also the LRA. When you look at when defection efforts are most successful in the LRA context, its when there is confusion, lack of leadership, and groups are isolated. They just lost one of their top commanders, and for those of us on the counter-LRA side of things, we want to exploit that. Binani probably had anywhere between 30-45 fighters under his command, not taking into account women, children, and porters.

Sean with a yellow defection flier

Can you define defection?

It’s just a complicated way of saying surrender, but within the context of an armed group. We’re currently working on using all of our publication methods of getting defection messaging to the LRA. Ongoing, we are developing a flier publicizing to the LRA that Binani’s been killed. Saying to these groups in Congo, “You don’t have a leader, this is an ideal time to defect. Binani was killed but you don’t have to end up like that. You can surrender. You can go to any number of safe reporting sites [which we’ve been establishing over the past six months; these are communities that IC has coordinated with who have said that the LRA can safely surrender there without risk of harm.]

We’re working on incorporating what happened to Binani into the fliers, FM radio programs, etc. A new project we’re working on is using these speakers that have a range of about six kilometers and are mounted on helicopters that broadcast messages directly to LRA groups. When there is information about where a specific LRA group is, these helicopters will go up and play defection messaging – often times by Caesar Achellam - talking about how you can come out, and that he’s safe, and the UPDF will take care of you. It’s really effective because you can forbid people from picking up a flier, you can limit the amount of people who have FM radios, but you can’t cover every person’s ear when a helicopter is flying overhead.

Is there a major difference in our messaging with Binani’s case being that he was killed versus a safe defection such as Achellam’s?

We’ve seen that messaging is not effective when framed in the negative. You have to positively say you can surrender and show that there are people safe at home. That’s why we’re using the narrative that this is not anything that anybody wants. It’s not what Invisible Children wants. The ideal scenario is that these guys surrender. We’ve seen a huge increase of safe surrenders in the past six months, and we want to show that death is not the ultimate outcome.

Back to the defection fliers – what does that take? When you say we’re doing it, who is we and what are the steps?

There are a few key people on this project. We really rely on our Acholi counterparts in northern Uganda. These are people who have lived through the war, lost family members to the LRA, some of them were even abducted into the LRA, and understand the psyche of the group. They really own all the messaging, and then from San Diego we put that messaging into a succinct, efficient, and clear package using feedback and expertise gained from talking to defectors about what is effective to see on a flier.

We’re constantly working with our Acholi staff in northern Uganda to come up with messaging. When we created one of our first fliers, we used, “Surrender to the UPDF here.” And they told us, “No, you can’t tell an LRA to surrender. You have to instruct them to a place, and can say lay down your weapons here, but the wording of surrender will not be received well.” Things we would never know not being Acholi.

Our staff in the field in CAR, DRC, and Uganda gather photos of people who have recently defected to use the most up-to-date examples for our fliers. Once everything has been put in place, the fliers are printed in Kampala and shipped out to according locations.

How long does it take to put these together?

It takes anywhere from 3 days to a week. The most difficult portion often is getting one of the languages translated. For some of these languages, there aren’t a lot of people in the world who speak it.

When are you leaving San Diego to head back out to the field?

I am headed back out in two weeks and will spend the remainder of the dry season working with our CAR team on the HF expansion up there and will continue to focus on defection messaging as more and more LRA surrender and we capitalize on that.

Thanks for all the insight, Sean. Safe travels.

Territorial Administrator of Dungu giving his blessing from the community and declaring the center officially open. Abbe Benoit Kinalegu (Director of CDJP) is on the right.

The Centre (appropriately named Centre Elikya, meaning “hope” in Lingala) is equipped with psychosocial support professionals and has been counseling traumatized children from the local Dungu area since October 2011, even while construction has been under way. Now that it has officially opened its doors, the program and facilities are equipped to serve 150 children at any given time.

Tree planting to mark Centre Elikya’s opening, symbolizing the life and growth to come.

The program is designed to serve children for six months before they are reunited with their families. The center’s activities focus on preparing children for successful reintegration into society by seeking to restore their mental health, equipping children to return to school, or, if beyond school age, learning a marketable skill to be used in the workplace. For all participants, a main portion of the activities focuses on teaching children to cope with and understand their trauma.

Youth currently enrolled at the Centre who are all overcoming trauma caused by the extreme violence of the LRA.

Because of the logistical and security challenges of the region, the program is centered in Dungu town and operates within the current protection strategy of organizations operating in northeastern DR Congo.

The below video was made in January 2011 to launch the rehabilitation project. Learn more about Centre Elikya in its entirety [HERE].

We thank our TRI members for their sustained dedication to our mission and their monthly donations that make programs like Centre Elikya possible.

Yes, he’s good looking. But he’s also a smarty-pants and is our Director of Programs in central Africa. He recently traveled to DR Congo and brought along his handy iPhone. Which obviously translates to behind-the-scenes-instagram-filtered photos.

On patrol with park rangers in Garamba National Park (GNP). GNP has been a safe haven for the LRA since 2006 when Kony and his forces were forced out of Uganda and took to hiding in the park. LRA groups continue to hide in this vast forest, setting up camps for days or weeks at a time, and launching attacks into neighboring communities.

No hippos were harmed during this Instagram photo. (yes, they’re hippos – not ducks)

Margaux, one of our field staff in DRC, making friends in Garamba during one of the rangers’ daily patrols.

Last month, our staff traveled through Garamba to link in their ranger stations to Invisible Children’s early warning radio network. Much of the park is a forested Savannah, with dense forest opening up to vast grass clearings, like this one. The LRA inhabiting the park live off of poached game meat and supplies that they loot from nearby communities.

Your’e officially in Garamba National Park. Welcome.

Crossing rivers takes some ingenuity…and a little elbow grease.

There’s those hippos again.

Refueling at a ranger station in the southern end of GNP.

Park rangers patrol Garamba each day, looking for signs of poaching and armed group activity. Park rangers recently tracked and clashed with an LRA group that was poaching giraffe in the park.

Luis Arranz has dedicated the last five years of his life to the conservation of GNP. As the park’s director, he oversees operations to protect wildlife & drive the LRA and poachers out of Garamba. Recent reports show that the LRA have increasingly been poaching elephants for their ivory. The park’s elephant population has fallen from 20,000 to just 2,000 elephants over the last three decades, with more elephant carcasses being found every month.

Several Invisible Children staff members make up the team working on our ‘Come Home’ programs. Two major contributors are Malamu and Ashby.

Hi Malamu!

Malamu Georges Atibasay is Invisible Children’s FM Radio Engineer. He is currently overseeing the construction of Radio Communautaire Tambwahe in Banda, Democratic Republic of Congo and building a new studio for Radio Zereda in Obo, Central African Republic. Malamu also supervised the construction of Radio Tangazeni Kristo in Dungu, DR Congo, which now broadcasts ‘Come Home’ messages daily.

Hi Ashby!

Ashby Patrick is Invisible Children’s Regional DDR/RR Officer, based out of the Regional Office in Kampala, Uganda. His main focus is DDR sensitization strategies. Ashby facilitates the recording of ‘Come Home’ radio messages from regional leaders to LRA combatants, coordinates the reintegration and fulfillment of needs of defectors, and assists with family tracing for reinsertion purposes.

Our goal for this holiday season is to raise $100,000 that will fund 2,500 square kilometers of added FM radio coverage (as well as fund 100,000 defection fliers, and 2 regional office staff that will focus on our FM and defection flier projects.)  By supporting our “Come Home” Messaging programs, you are helping to bring lost family members home for the holidays. And they thank you in advance.

This past weekend, the Commission Diocésaine Justice et Paix (CDJP) and Invisible Children conducted a three-day training for 44 radio operators of the Early Warning Radio Network (EWRN). The radio operators arrived from northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR). The workshop focused on preventative measures the radio operators could take to improve protection of themselves, their communities, and the High Frequency (HF) radios they work with. Presentations were given in French and Lingala and ranged from a discussion about LRA patterns in the region to humanitarian principles to how to safely collect credible and accurate information. Below are two quotes from radio operators during an exercise discussing the value of the EWRN as a form of community protection:

“When we are informed, we can better organize and protect our lives.”
- Operator in Bas-Uele, DRC

“We don’t need to be armed to fight them. We would never defeat them. We each need to choose our own way to combat them.”
- Operator in Haut-Uele, DRC

Our Early Warning Radio Network is composed of high-frequency, two-way, long-range radios that give communities in DR Congo and the Central African Republic the ability to report LRA activity to one another. Learn more about the program [HERE].

This past July saw those 16 winners disembarking from a plane at the Entebbe airport in Uganda, ready to experience the trip of a lifetime.

This was more than a sightseeing trip – although they did that too. This was a chance to see how Recovery programs have been working in northern Uganda to bring improved education and livelihood to a region formerly affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict. It was an opportunity to meet with Invisible Children Uganda staff who have the responsibility to mentor students in the Legacy Scholarship Program. It was a chance to talk with teachers at schools benefiting from Schools for Schools construction projects.

The Frontline winners get to know students at Pabbo SS, one of the 11 partner schools of Schools for Schools.

While many of these trip winners have been long-term supporters of Invisible Children, they still found themselves surprised by the number of programs that they discovered in Uganda. In particular, many commented that they had been unaware of just how much was being done through the Village Savings and Loan Associations program.

“It was wonderful to be able to visit a village and see how this program is improving the lives of the people there by helping them grow more food, buy products to sell as a business, and learn more about responsible economic practices,” said Forrest Sherman, who became involved with IC after seeing The Rough Cut as a freshman at her university.

In addition to visiting each of the on-the-ground programs and hearing from the community members, the trip included an overnight stay in Awere, with a visit to the place where Joseph Kony claims to have gained magic powers.

An outcropping of rocks overlooking Awere. The crevice full of rainwater is where Joseph Kony claims to have received magical powers.

Invisible Children’s regional ambassador, Jolly Okot Andruvile, is also from Awere, and invited the group to stay at her family home. Over plates full of delicious local food like malakwang and sweet potatoes, Jolly’s father explained the history of the war and how it affected their family and so many others living in the north.

At Jolly’s family’s compound in Awere.

The trip was a reward for hard work and dedication, but it was also a starting point. A place to foment new ideas and gain perspective on our global community. Each of the trip winners has a unique skill set and the ambition to be part of a better future. Whether that is through supporting IC programs, other organizations that are making a difference, or by initiating their own ideas – there are exciting things to come from this group.

“Meeting all of these unbelievably friendly and strong and people was very humbling and I aspire to be more like them,” Forrest wrote after the trip. “I thought that Uganda was part of my heart before, but now I know that it always will be.”

Forrest is currently in medical school and is planning to volunteer at a clinic in Uganda next summer.

Another trip winner, Susie Jun, says that since going on the trip she has been motivated to get more involved with Invisible Children, maybe interning or becoming a roadie in the future.

“One thing is for sure, I want to see a change in our world and I would love to help that change happen,” Susie says.

LEFT: Susie enjoys a hillside swing at Sipi Falls. RIGHT: the group proudly sports Uganda Cranes jerseys at the airport before their flight home.

Carolyn Oliver was able to reunite with Santo during the trip. Santo and his roadie team stayed with Carolyn’s family when they were on tour.

Visiting a coffee farm to learn how coffee is grown and roasted.

Forrest poses with the seamstress at Mend who made her bag.

There was a 42% drop in reported LRA attacks from Quarter 2 (Q2) to Q3 2012. This drop mirrors a similar reduction in attacks from Q2-Q3 in 2010 and 2011.

Most senior LRA commanders are thought to be operating out of southeastern and northeastern Central African Republic (CAR), as well as the disputed Kafia Kingi enclave on the border of Sudan and South Sudan that is currently controlled by Sudan.

There was an average of 0.18 people killed per LRA attacks in Q3 2012, continuing a trend observed over the past year of severely reduced killings by the LRA. The trend was particularly pronounced in Congo during Q3 2012, where LRA forces killed only 1 civilian in 39 attacks there.

94 people reportedly returned from the LRA during Q3 2012. Of these returnees, 28 reported being abducted for 72 hours or less, and 50 others reported being abducted for less
than one month. The LRA reportedly abducted 90 civilians in Q3 2012, a majority of which were adults.

The LRA Crisis Tracker is a real-time mapping platform and data collection system created to bring an unprecedented level of transparency to the atrocities of the LRA. Visit lracrisistracker.com or follow them on Twitter @CrisisTracker for up-to-date information about LRA activity.