OUR STORY

Refuge and Hope began as a small non-profit supporting nine boys who had been affected by the war in Southern Sudan... 

Jade and Shelah Acker, an American missionary couple who founded the organization, started working with the boys while serving in a camp for former child soldiers in Sudan in 2001. In 2004, the Ackers registered Refuge and Hope International. Jade and Shelah saw an opportunity to serve refugees on a broader scale in Africa. Uganda—acting as a relatively stable home to more than 440,000 refugees from Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and other countries—seemed the logical place for relocation. In 2008, they launched an English as a Second Language (ESL) and Christian discipleship program for a growing number of urban refugees. Refuge and Hope's school, the Center of Hope, began with 12 students meeting in a small room in a region of Kampala heavily populated with refugees. Today, the organization serves more than 1000 refugees a year and has expanded its programs to include educational, professional, personal, and spiritual development programs.