Falling Whistles is a campaign for peace in the Congo. The whistle, as a symbol of protest, comes from a story of children too small to carry guns, sent to the front lines by rebel groups in the Congo, armed only with a whistle. The Falling Whistles Journal; A Single Story of a Single Day, was written by Sean, after hearing the child soldiers story first hand, when they were imprisoned by the National army, as enemies of the state. After working with the UN to negotiate the boy’s release, the journal was originally sent to friends and family, who forwarded it onto others. Asking the question, what can we do?
A chance gift from a friend that sparked interest in all that saw it, formed the basis of the idea. Selling whistles one at a time, the founders asked those that bought them to bare witness to this silent, deadly war unfolding unnoticed and unchallenged in the Congo. Taking a box of whistles from Austin to Texas to New York, the message grew in living rooms, and coffee shops along the way, with the following message “We don’t have all the answers, but we won’t be quiet while millions loose their lives.” In a classic version of pay it forward, the message was adopted and spread by many, first a hitchhiker named David, then three college students from Florida who biked to California with whistles in their backpacks. And so the message spread. In the five years Whistles for Peace have existed, they have built a coalition of 100,000 whistleblowers around the world, including retailers, societies and entrepreneurs, joined organizations and pushed for solutions, finally giving birth to two Special Envoy’s from the US and the UN with mandates to end the war. Peace is achieved through the accumulation of many daily steps, from oppression to liberty; Whistles for Peace are setting the pace.
Website: www.fallingwhistles.com
