Great Commission school is located in Northern Uganda in Palabek Ogilli, an area most known for a large refugee camp. The school is run by U.S. missionaries Melinda and Rex Guynn who have been serving in the area for 13 years. Right now they have 210 students enrolled in the school, which also features a library- a rare thing to find in this area of the country. The children at Great Commission are mostly total or partial orphans (may have one parent alive but they cannot support them) or refugees from nearby Sudan. Students at this school enjoy their lessons, learning life skills, and playing soccer.

 

The new school year starts in January, so we will be giving these gifts over the Christmas holidays. They are excited about getting Hope Paks for those kids to equip them and give them confidence going into their new grade levels.

 

This year, more than ever, we are thrilled to provide funds for them to buy the backpacks and school supplies in-country rather than buying them here and carrying them with us. This enables us to support the local economy and save significantly on shipping and traveling costs.

 

Palabek refugee camp is now home to more than 38,000 refugees fleeing violence and civil unrest in South Sudan. It was established in 2017, making it the newest refugee camp in Uganda, and because of that, they still lack many resources- including and especially access to education.

 

According to Reliefweb.int about Palabek Camp:

There are insufficient schools accessible leading to severe congestions in the classrooms and low teacher per student ratios. Moreover, parents highlighted, language barriers have affected students’ abilities to learn. Schools reported inadequate facilities further, such as libraries and laboratories, combined with a lack of school materials, deteriorating the learning environment. Additionally, the lack of vocational institutions has left the youth idle due to the limited opportunities available following primary school.

 

Please join us! We are collecting funds from now til December 2020 to provide a wonderful Hope Pak celebration for the kids of Palabek. Your donations will help provide backpacks, school resources, and party supplies to the Guynn’s to make this a special day for the 210 children at Great Commission school.