Phil Game: Chair of Trustees, Child of Hope UK

It was with great sadness that we learned on Friday January 29 of the sudden and unexpected passing of Phil Game. He was one of the founders of the Child of Hope UK charity in 2010 and a member of the board of trustees, which he chaired from 2014. He had been in good health and died peacefully in his sleep at home. Only two evenings prior to his passing he had chaired a meeting of the trustees via Zoom. 

Phil has helped steer the UK charity through enormous growth, which in turn has enabled CoH in Uganda to open two high-quality schools. A strong and faithful Christian, Phil had a longstanding commitment to overseas development work. Early in their marriage, he and his wife Avril spent thirteen years as missionaries in Bangladesh, where Phil developed a good working knowledge of the Bengali language. Together they made various short-term mission trips to African and Asian countries, supporting specific projects. 

In the past decade, Phil and Avril have visited Child of Hope in Uganda several times, including for the official opening of the primary school. Phil had great understanding of cultural issues. During visits, he would make a point of talking to people in every department, listening with humility to their perspectives. 

On their last visit in 2018, Phil visited every class in the school and prayed individually for every child about to sit their primary leaving exam. Understandably, he is held in extremely high regard by the Child of Hope community in Mbale, who feel his loss keenly.

Moses and Bex Okotel said from Uganda that Phil’s “wealth of knowledge regarding working overseas, development and pastoral ministry, as well as his compassion, will be sorely missed. His encouragement has been a source of hope and determination for us. His visits to us in Uganda were always filled with fun and laughter, as well as extremely useful advice and guidance. We truly have lost a giant in the faith and his passing leaves a big hole in our lives.”

A huge loss to the charity and to his home church near Poole, Dorset, Phil will be remembered for his kindness, his wisdom, his gentle humour, and his ability to carry responsibility with the utmost reliability and faithfulness. He was a natural administrator with a careful eye for detail and a heart for people. Phil Game was a man of complete integrity; his word was his bond. He lived well and he died well, having enriched the lives of many.