The Wall of Hope
As our regular readers and supporters know, GBHT is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise enough funds to build 10 classrooms and an event hall at the Hope Center in Kibagare. We are well on the way to our goal of $160,000 pledged, with $39,550 pledged as of this writing, and $18,900 received. We are grateful that, within the past 18 months, enough land around the existing Hope Center was offered for sale (and GBHT was blessed to have the donations to purchase it) to allow for a substantial expansion of the campus. But we are humbled to be able to share the above photo of a wall with you.
The wall depicted in the photo is not just any wall. It is true that it is a sidewall being constructed on the first of GBHT’s new classroom buildings at the Hope Center. But this wall is much more than that: the blocks for this wall were all collected and donated by the people of Kibagare. Day laborers asked their employers for donations of block. Community members explained the project to local businesses and were awarded with blocks. All were collected and delivered to the Hope Center in a meaningful act of service and contribution.
The people of Kibagare live at a subsistence level of poverty. Many are going to bed hungry every night. Many have no idea how they will find food for their children tomorrow. For most, the idea of providing their children with the opportunity for an education has seemed like just an unreachable dream. But then, GBHT opened the Hope Center (just) three years ago. During school breaks, the children in the community began to be fed on a daily basis – more than 600 of them every day. Children began to be sponsored, and the number of sponsored children has now grown to 64. The parents of sponsored children are realizing the dream of education for their kids. Children who are in school began to be tutored at the Hope Center.
In 2024, a preschool was started at the Hope Center with 15 students in the first class. In 2025, the number of children served by the GBHT preschool grew to 75. Enrollment for 2026 is over 100. In August of 2025, the first medical camp sponsored by GBHT was conducted at the Hope Center, and over 1,500 people received free medical care, dental care, medication, and lab work in just three days. More than 40 children gave their lives to Christ in 2025 as a result of GBHT’s ministry, and 61 adults gave their lives to Christ during the medical camp in August.
The cumulative effect of this work at the Hope Center – work that you, our supporters, are making possible – is that the community recognizes that the Hope Center truly is just that: a beacon of hope for the people of Kibagare. They are grateful. They cannot give back much, but they want the Hope Center to be their place, too; not just the structures funded by generous donors from far away, but structures towards which they made a contribution. And so they figured out ways to donate cement blocks. Enough blocks to build the portion of wall seen in this photo. A wall that symbolizes their hope.
For those of you have donated to the capital campaign, you should know that the people of Kibagare are grateful. The wall in the photo above is just part of the evidence of their gratitude. But it is an important part of the evidence. By contributing to the construction of these classrooms, they are invested in the Hope Center. Investment in the place that gives so much to them brings them dignity. The preservation of the dignity of the people whom GBHT serves makes it possible for GBHT’s ministry to be more effective. On behalf of the people of Kibagare, thank you.
If you have not yet joined in the capital campaign, you can learn more about it and how you can be part of it here.