It’s About Thriving, Not Just Surviving

Like many of you, we often find ourselves conflicted by the age old question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Of course, we don’t expect to fully comprehend the answer to this questions during our time here on earth. But we can’t help but wonder why some children -- including our own -- have the “luxury” of an education (even when they consider it a burden...”Oh Mom, do I have to go to school today....”) while so many of those who desperately want and need an education have been denied this basic human right. They have the ability, but they don’t have the opportunity.

Lino and Angelo’s high school graduation, with AG and KJ

Fortunately, understanding why bad things happen to good people is not our job. Our job, rather, is to lend a hand to people when bad things do happen. To date, we have been helping refugees in Uganda by teaching them to read, write and speak English, by offering Bible courses, and by providing vocational training so they can rebuild their lives here in Kampala, back in their home countries, or wherever they settle.

We offer good and much needed programs to the refugees we serve. But we need to be able to offer even more. We want to do more than simply enable our students to survive. We want them to thrive.

Of the 400 students we serve each term, more than half have not been afforded the “luxury” of attending or completing school. In countries afflicted by war and conflict, there are sometimes no schools to attend. If there are schools, there may be a lack of teachers and very few, if any resources. Traveling to and from school may not be safe. Many students learn under trees with no books, pens or paper.

When they’re forced to flee, their educations are interrupted. It may be years before they’re in a stable enough environment to return to school.

We've often thought to ourselves, If we could just help our students complete school... imagine how far they could go!”

But here in Uganda, refugees are required to return to primary school if they want to complete their educations. This often means adults and youth must return to primary school. Sometimes as far back as the first grade.

A refugee youth, wearing the uniform of a primary school boy.

Can you imagine returning to the first grade now, knowing you have another 12 years to go before you can complete school and get a job? Neither can we.

On top of that, they have to pay school fees and buy the required uniforms, books and supplies, which they simply can’t afford. Very few are ever able to complete school, which makes finding a job even more difficult.

For years Jade and I have dreamed of being able to provide our students with an accelerated education program that would enable them to complete school and earn a nationally recognized diploma in a quick and dignified way.

We researched the possibilities and prayed about this for some time. A few months ago, we learned about the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) program.

The ACE program offers just what our students need: an accelerated education program that will enable them to earn a nationally recognized high school diploma in just a few short years.

It sounds like an answered prayer. But it also sounds a bit out of reach for us as it comes with a pretty hefty price tag. The startup costs alone (training teachers, registering students, purchasing scholastic materials and expanding our facilities) will run about $35,000.

But we can no longer deny the fact that it’s time to expand our offerings to include a program such as this. By enabling our students to earn a high school diploma, they’ll be better equipped to thrive in Uganda, or wherever they go. Who knows, they may even become the change-makers and leaders their home countries will need in the future.

With prayer and faith we’re stepping out into unchartered territory for Refuge & Hope. Implementing the ACE program will be a massive undertaking and a huge expense. But our students deserve this...just as much as my daughters deserve to go to school.

We hope you’ll support us by making a contribution to our #UNLEASHED campaign (which we've launched specifically to fund the ACE program), by praying with us, and by sharing information about this campaign with your friends.