Falling Whistles
Falling Whistles and contributions Iliana Deanda
The world’s deadliest war has been taking place where the news won’t go. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, kidnapped children who are too small to wield a weapon are forced to the frontlines of battle with only a whistle on their neck. “Their sole duty is only to make enough noise to scare the enemy and then to retrieve, with their bodies, the first round of bullets,” stated a line in the journal entry written by Sean Carasso, founder of Falling Whistles.
Falling Whistles is an organization that sells the same whistles worn by these children as a means to spread peace in the Congo. 100 percent of the proceeds go toward the effort for recovering and rehabilitating the war affected kids.
“I heard about Falling Whistles from a friend. When I watched the video on their website, I was moved to tears and decided that I wanted to get involved,” said ASU student Celina Massey.
She then decided to support the organization’s goals.
“I donated money, and I also purchased a whistle. I am proud to wear my whistle, and constantly tell people about the organization when I am stopped and asked where I got my whistle,” Massey said.
Carasso traveled to the Congo while volunteering for TOMS shoe and Invisible Children in late 2007. Upon the first night of his visit, he wrote a moving journal entry that has worked as the primary drawing force for the Falling Whistles campaign.
“Originally I went to Africa to put shoes on kids’ feet. My friend built a company grounded in giving and there I was, on the ground, giving,” stated Carasso in his journal.
Through the journal entry it was clear that Falling Whistles truly began out of necessity and for no other reason. While he ventured through the Congo, Carasso met up with five of the boys who had been held captive by the unruly militia. The journal entries can become emotionally overwhelming for many reasons.
“Some of the journal entries were really hard for me to read. Reading them made me realize that I can do a lot more to help out these children in their time of need. Every child deserves a childhood, education and most importantly, a family,” Massey said.
Brittany Bledsoe, of Falling Whistles, detailed the organizations goals.
“We want to end the decade-long war in the Congo, but to also see economic development that would benefit the people of Congo,” Bledsoe said.
Part of this development included the ongoing push for education.
“We want to see that their youth have the option of a book rather than a gun. Education instead of war. And we want to do this by elevating the voices of local visionaries and providing them with the tools to succeed,” Bledsoe said.
She stated that there is still much progress to be done by Falling Whistles.
“With only two years under the organizations belt, there is still a lot of work to be done, but the goals are achievable with the help of people like you,” Bledsoe said. “Falling Whistles works with five principle tools, (to) rehabilitate, educate, disseminate, congregate and advocate the war-affected children of the Congo.”
Falling Whistles has been currently touring America universities to spread the word about peace in the Congo. The company financially runs mostly on the revenue generated from the sales of Falling Whistles necklaces.
“I was lucky enough to see the tour when they stopped here in Arizona,” said ASU student Garrett Case. “I was really touched by this organization. I wan’t to spread the word and get as many people involved as I can.”
The organization has been working to rehabilitate 267 children, including more in the near future. The rehabilitation process starts with expression therapy.
This is done through the means of sports, dance, music and photography. The children are taught to express themselves and creatively work through their trauma.
“It’s not about charity, it’s about solidarity. We want you to walk with us, to stand beside our partners in the Congo and say, ‘we are with you.’ Not because we feel sorry for you, but because you are our brothers, our sisters, and because we are all in this together,” Bledsoe said.
To learn more information on Falling Whistles, or if one is interested in supporting human rights and world peace, necklaces can be purchased at www.fallingwhistles.com.
