St. Paul's God Jope Hills Academy and Orphanage

The school was founded in 2008 in the God Jope location near the town of Migori. "God Jope" in the language of the Luo Tribe means "Elephant's Hill". It has become a leader in academic and extracurricular activities whose students are among the highest performers in national testing.

St. Paul’s God Jope Academy and Orphanage is a co-ed boarding school with an orphanage option available. Currently, there are approximately 190 students, and a quarter of these are either orphans or raised by a single parent.

The school enrolls children from the poorest of families, most of whom cannot afford to pay any fees at all. For the majority of students, this school is their only chance for a decent future.

The founder and rector of St. Paul's God Jope Academy and Orphanage is the Very Reverend Dr. Archimandrite Anastasios Elekiah Andago Kihali. Born on December 19, 1961 in Kenya, he is a 1989 graduate of the Makarios III Patriarchal Seminary in Nairobi.

Through an OCMC scholarship, Fr. Anastasios studied at Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston, Massachusetts. After receiving a Master of Divinity in 1993 and a Master of Theology in 2002, he responded to the critical needs of the Orthodox Church of Albania and relocated there to teach at the Ngjallja Seminary in Durres. Thus, he became the first indigenous Orthodox missionary from Africa to Europe! In 2009, he received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in History and Missiology from the Aristotelian State University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

The team of the school also consists of 12 teachers in charge of 12 classes, as well as three more subordinate staff members.

"To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the Gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you."
(I Corinthians 9:22−23)

St. Paul is the Apostle whose mission style, engagement, thought and practice were a great influence on Fr. Anastasios Kihali’s way of thinking and approach to mission work. That’s why St. Paul’s God Jope Academy and Orphanage carries the name of this great Saint

Just as St. Paul was outpouring of himself for the sake of bringing the Good News to the Gentiles, the team of St. Paul’s Academy does its best to offer the little ones a loving family environment, an affordable and quality education, leadership molding, social improvement, success in life and a progressive future!