Falling Whistles

I put on a white shirt with the number 268 written, in black sharpie, on the front of it. On the back of the t-shirt it says, “I was one.” I was one of thousands that attended the Falling Whistles presentation in Emans Auditorium to listen to a young man’s message. Sean, came out on to the stage with such fire and excitement. He wanted to get to know us and wanted to share his story. Sean wanted to help us, help him make a difference in many young boys lives. He said, “They are too young and helpless to fight for themselves, so we must fight for them.” Sean and his interns were selling these beautiful, shinny whistles. But the story behind the gorgeous whistles was heartbreaking.

Sean was searching for adventure with a few of his buddies but instead they found a horrific war that was destroying the lives of young children in Congo. “It was an unspeakable hell.” Sean said. He told us the whistleblowers are children who are too young to carry a rifle. They instead are given a whistle and put on the front lines of the battlefield with instructions to blow their whistles so fiercefully that they will frighten the other army – instead they are unarmed human barricades who are shot to death by the opposing soldiers, or shot in the back by their kidnappers if they try to flee. These young children had no choice, no freedom.

When Sean returned back to the United States he decided he was going to do something. He was going to take action. He and a few of his buddies started from absolutely nothing and built an empire of voices that is growing larger and larger everyday. Sean and his army will stop the madness of hell in Congo and free the children.