Greater Hope Project

An education is an opportunity to learn skills that will lead to employment and a economically stable future. It gives young girls an alternative to early motherhood and endless poverty. It gives shattered lives a renewed sense of purpose. Educated children are the peacemakers, the leaders, the teachers, and the doctors. They are the end to a cycle of poverty and crisis. They are the future.

At the processing center that the refugees go to when the enter the country, if you ask them why they came the first response is to get away from the danger of war. The second response is to get an education. They know the importance. Unfortunately the schools are far away, and cost more than they have. A local community school is a sliver of hope that they are not forgotten.

Determination and focus are words which describe Christina. At fourteen years old, violent circumstances have already forced her to grow up too fast, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to change her future. When her father was killed, Christina and her mother fled South Sudan. After walking for two weeks, they reached the refugee camps of Northern Uganda. Despite the trauma and difficulties, Christina was determined to get an education, leading her to walk an hour each way to attend Hope Primary School.

Today, Christina and four others share an old mattress in a small mud hut closer to the school. She doesn’t bat an eye when showing you her home, because it’s temporary and her focus is on her studies. When you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, Christina looks you in the eye and says an accountant. Her goal is to rise from poverty, give other kids hope from her story, and to be successful.

We have started with Hope Primary School in the Rhino Refugee Camp. We continue to work with the Office of the Prime Minister to create forward movement for the school. In partnership with Parakletis USA, we have trained trauma counselors, who come to train school teachers on how to begin the healing process in their students. We have discipleship programs as well for the teachers and their students provided by His Sickles ministry. The Citizens of Refuge video team came to make a documentary about the school, which has recently been released, to raise awareness. Advancing Leaders International (ALI), a ministry of teacher trainers, has hosted two teacher conferences to train the refugee teachers on strategies to use to teach in the harsh environment of the camp.

Hundreds of child refugees receive their education here. With very limited resources and more refugees continuing to pour into the camp, the children of Hope Primary School are in desperate need of hope. By partnering with us, you can provide hope to them.

The Greater Hope Project is a group of people from all walks of life, connected by a thread of hope and a passion to help those affected by injustice. We are partnering with the Department of Education of Anglican Church of Uganda, Madi and West Nile Diocese in Arua, as well as Advancing Leaders International, USA, to help meet the educational needs of refugee children.

There is room for others skilled in construction, or the arts, or micro business to join our ranks to help the refugees build lives while they are waiting to go back to their country. Just think if they could build skills here to take back to South Sudan to help bring peace! Contact us to plug into what God is doing in this refugee camp.