Bellevue high-school students wrapped up a weeks-long book drive on Feb. 18, packing away an estimated 11,500 publications for the non-profit group Invisible Children.

The books will eventually sell online, translating into educational funds for the displaced children of war-torn Uganda.

Members of various student groups – including ASB, National Honor Society, and Amnesty International clubs – helped organize and implement the drive.

They set up collection boxes throughout the schools, solicited Half Price Books for donations, and held screenings of a documentary that describes the situation in Uganda.

Interlake students Preston Mui and Stephen Bronskill even went door-to-door gathering pledges.

Mui says the work reminded him of his volunteer efforts last year with the Darcy Burner congressional campaign.

“We used some of the same techniques,” he said. “It was a lot like canvassing.”

Invisible Children’s mission is to raise awareness about Uganda’s 23-year civil war, a conflict between the country’s government and a rebel militant group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

The LRA uses child abductions to fill its ranks, prompting the government in 1996 to forcibly re-locate people by the thousands into protection camps.

Hostilities in Uganda have quieted in recent years, but the peace is unstable. Many displaced residents are reluctant to return home, a place many of them haven’t seen for decades.

One million Ugandans still live in camps today, according to Invisible Children.

“It’s a really tragic situation,” said Newport student Leah Fantle. “It’s so deep-rooted, I’m not sure what should be done on a political level.

“I like to do things to promote education, so they can get out of it.”

Invisible Children is working to make a difference through its Schools for Schools program, which pairs fundraisers in the U.S. with educational institutions in Uganda.

Participating schools work in clusters, with the top fundraiser from each group sending a representative to Uganda to see the program impacts firsthand.

Newport raised $7,400 in 2008, finishing fourth in the Pacific Northwest region.

Students from throughout the Bellevue School District have gotten involved in the program, using the social-networking site Facebook to organize their efforts and stay in touch.

“It’s inspiring to see that we can make a difference with people we’ve never even met,” said Newport student Rachael Sherman.

Joshua Adam Hicks can be reached at 425.453.4290