By Jade Acker
This fall we paused the Hope Institute of Languages and Life-Skills (HILLS) and stopped renting a building that we have used for over 11 years. Yesterday, I did a walk through to make sure everything was ready to hand over to the landlady.As I toured the
empty building memories washed over me. In 2014, I remember wondering if this building would be good to serve the thousands of refugees that lived nearby. At that time, we were renting a small house nearby that functioned as our office and an ESL center for refugees. The small office/center had overwhelmingly reached full capacity with over 300 students and many staff. But then, we found this large building and decided to rent it. It was a great decision.
Over the years, thousands of refugees have learned skills, heard about Jesus and found community inside the walls of that building and on the grass of the compound. As I walked into the classrooms I had so many memories of teaching classes, sharing with students and laughing with friends. We had built extra outdoor classrooms, added walkways, constructed a large shade on the side of the building and planted trees. The trees were now fully grown and the flowers we planted made the once isolated lonely building look alive. So many things had changed and so many people had come and gone.
Somehow through COVID we were able to continue to rent this building and continue to do ministry. Thousands of refugees received skills and emergency assistance. The needs were overwhelming, but God continued to be faithful. Two years ago, we had the opportunity to rent and potentially purchase a larger building and compound that was connected toour rented office space. Instead of moving and uprooting our ministry we decided to rent both buildings to serve more refugees.
For over 17 years we have been involved in teaching ESL to refugees in Kampala as they struggle to survive in the capital city of Uganda. There are over 1.5 million refugees in Uganda. By renting both buildings we were able to serve over 500 refugees every day and over 100 refugees in our sports, music and art programs. In early 2025 we were able to put a down payment on the Center of Hope. In August, we decided to stop renting the wonderful building we had utilized for the last 11 years. We can now focus our energies and resources to purposefully develop the Center of Hope. Last month the students at Hope Institute transferred to our Center of Hope and now the Center is overwhelmingly full. We have added a few temporary classrooms to accommodate everyone. Moving forward, the Center of Hope will continue to be a light to the nations. Students from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Congo and beyond are coming to learn English, to learn skills and to learn about Christ.
God has provided!
As I strolled through the former building and prepared the last details to turnover the keys, I can’t help but think that it’s just a building. But this building holds memories. Memories of the faces of so many refugees. It’s the youth choir singing hymns, the small volleyball court we made between two palm trees, the sports days where we played games, the guava tree my daughter climbed, the talent show where refugees performed on our makeshift stage, the fried bread we shared, the celebrating of the many graduation ceremonies. It’s all the little things that made this building not just a building but a place of refuge, strength and hope. Thank you CBF for helping us serve the refugees in Uganda and thank you Father!