Hope in Troubled Times

  For the past two and a half years, I have had the immense honour of teaching English to some of the refugee community here in Kampala. Once or two days a week, I have been able to spend a few hours using my TEFL training.

   This has been through the inspiring "Centre of Refuge and Hope". With a huge mural displaying the following verse from Psalm 46, the centre seeks to provide a place where refugees can find exactly those two attributes: a refuge from pressing challenges and hope to move forward as they learn new skills. These skills can in turn assist them in finding work, helping them provide for their families and be self-sufficient.

The welcome on the wall near the Reception desk of the Education Centre speaks loud and clear:

               "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble."

  The atmosphere at the centre is joyful. If I have been away on holiday, the first thing I notice and love about my return is seeing the broad smiles, the friendly welcome of students and staff alike. Their warmth reflects the sunshine and climate of the countries they come from. These are a community of resilient people, getting up on their feet, taking steps forward out of hardship to learn English and better their employment opportunities.

  I have had the joy of teaching children and adults alike. Their stories inspire me. Their hard work motivates me. Their diversity and cultures fascinate me.

  I have taught smaller classes of children. My reward is their smile of achievement when they succeed in conquering the next stage of English; when they learn how to write that first sentence in English or discover the confidence to try out a new concept. I love seeing their finished work:

  I have also been teaching classes of adults, working alongside the regular teacher to cover his classes once a week. Some classes boast over 50 students. These lessons have pushed me to develop new skills as a teacher, where I have learnt to be more creative in engaging larger groups of adult learners. I have learnt much from the full-time teachers and am humbled by their kindness and passion to serve others. These past two and a half years have been challenging at times, fun and rewarding!

Most of all, it has been inspiring to see the progress and determination of students. Students who have overcome unimaginable obstacles, yet now sit ready to learn, perched on their plastic chairs in front of me and their whiteboard.

At the whiteboard:

Today, the centre lies silent. No laughter in the classrooms. No buzz of learning. Like most education centres across the globe, the doors remain shut: teachers and students alike are encouraged to stay in their homes.

With the coronavirus crisis and the ensuing restrictions, many students have suddenly lost their jobs or even the ability to go to find work - and therefore to earn an income for their families. There is no safety net, no scheme to assist. If you have no income, you have no money- and no food.

These are tough times. When I hear stories of how the students are struggling- of how the mothers cannot feed their children, I am heartbroken. It is hard to know how to respond, with the restrictions on movement and food distribution.

We are all in these difficult times together. It is hard for everyone. However, not many of us reading this will go seriously hungry as we wait in our homes for the virus to be overcome.

How does it feel to be in crowded accommodation, where houses are shacks, a jumbled tangle where it is hard to say where one home ends and the next one begins? What does "self-isolating" mean in this context?

What is it like, when you share a latrine with several other families and there is no way you can afford soap to wipe down doors or handles, to protect your children from the virus?
Where you have maybe only one or two rooms, so if someone is sick, you cannot separate them from everyone else?
When going to the doctor means being asked to pay money that you don't have?
When you can't afford food, so how would you buy soap?
When washing your hands means using water that has to be fetched in jerry-cans from a shared tap at the other end of your dusty street?

These are the added challenges of this time. It is hard to think of people I have worked with and know facing these additional troubles in these already-difficult times.

None of us know what the future holds. None of us can predict how this crisis can be brought to an end, nor what our world will look like when it does.

What I do know is that I have met, through "Refuge and Hope", people who have survived great difficulties, but inspire me with their resilience. That gives me hope as we face uncertainty now.

I have met people who have gone on to find strength, encouragement and hope through this incredible centre. A centre which exists to bring healing and point its students, as well as its staff, to look to the ultimate source of our comfort. A centre that I want to see continue and thrive.

Will you join me in praying for the students and their families through these days of trouble?
That they can find refuge, strength and practical help as they look to God?
That the Centre of Refuge and Hope will be able to continue its fantastic work in the future?

And if you feel inspired to read more, or to donate to an organisation that cares and helps the most vulnerable, here is the relevant website address:

https://www.refugeandhope.org/