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The film is narrated by Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian woman who had a dream to "get the women of the church together to pray for peace." She formed the Christian Women's Initiative, whose members risked their lives while staging strikes and sit-ins to demand an end to the violence. Their actions not only eventually brought peace, but also the exile of president Charles Taylor (later charged with war crimes) and the election of Africa's first female head of state.

Gbowee tells ct that her faith kept her going through the most difficult times: "One Scripture kept playing in my head, Psalm 121," she says. "'I will look up to the hills. From whence cometh my help?

My help comes from the Lord …' When I read that, this sense of peace came over me.

The ministry I got from God was, 'You take care of my business — the business I've sent you to do —and I'll take care of yours.'" Pray the Devil's website includes links to Peace Is Loud, an organization supporting peace activists around the world; T-shirt sales; and Global Goods Partners, which tackles poverty and promotes social justice through women-led initiatives.

As We Forgive

When Rwanda released more than 50,000 perpetrators of the 1994 genocide from prison several years ago, observers wondered what would happen. Hinson, who was on a church trip to the east-central African nation in 2005, was stunned to see many of the killers reconciling with the surviving victims, even building homes for them.

"I was in disbelief that people could actually forgive after something so horrific," Hinson says. "But I knew it was a story the whole world needed to know about."

Hinson, a Christian, has since learned that some 10,000 ex-prisoners want to build homes for their victims but lack the necessary supplies. So, in partnership with Prison Fellowship Rwanda, she started the Living Bricks Campaign, where donors can buy individual bricks or fund complete homes in a village "where survivors and ex-prisoners can live side by side in reconciliation," says Hinson.

The film's website also includes links to organizations and ministries active in Rwanda.

Call + Response

When professional musician Justin Dillon first learned of the scope of global human trafficking, he did a few fundraising concerts for International Justice Mission. But wanting to do more, he decided to make a film about it. "Look, as much as I'd like to be the guy who knocks down the doors of child brothels and beats up pimps, that's not a reality for me," says Dillon. "So I'm just going to do what I'm good at and see if I can get some energy for this movement."

The result is a "rockumentary" featuring celebrities (Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd) and musicians (Switchfoot, Natasha Bedingfield, Moby) all performing gratis. All profits go to projects combating human trafficking. The film, a mix of documentary footage, interviews, and musical performances, depicts the problem clearly and points to its website for ways to respond through donations to anti-slavery organizations, advocacy, awareness campaigns, and more. In the film's opening month, ticket sales alone raised over $20,000 for those programs, with thousands more pouring in through website and text-messaging donations.

War Child

"Left home at the age of seven / one year later I'm carryin' an AK-47."

So go the lyrics of a song by hip-hop artist Emmanuel Jal, the title character in this compelling film. As a young boy caught in the chaos of Sudan's civil war, Jal was one of 10,000 child soldiers conscripted by the Sudan People's Liberation Army, forced to kill and engage in other atrocities. Jal eventually escaped and left his homeland; today, as a rising music star, he travels the world sharing his story, even in the halls of the U.S. State Department.

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February 2009, Vol. 53, No. 2