Today is GivingTuesday, and we invite you to join us in honoring Bessie Cheachea and the over 70 Liberian staff members of Hope International who give of themselves on Tuesdays and every other day.
Last month we shared with you a day-in-the-life of Hope International student, Anointed, whose story is one of the 1500 students of Hope. Anointed spends much of her day with Bessie, her third-grade teacher and beloved, 16-year educator at Hope International. We wanted to share a typical day-in-the-life of Bessie, whose story represents one of the 70+ staff members who will be directly receiving your collective GivingTuesday generosity this holiday season.
This is Bessie's home she shares with her daughter Agnes (19) and granddaughter Catherine (8 months). Through the stable employment she has had at Hope International, she was able to use her earnings to build her own home in Jacob Town, Rehab Community about an hour away from the school campus.
Bessie wakes at 5 in the morning to ready for her long commute. She has a cup of tea and is on her way. Her journey each morning isn't easy. Bessie begins walking a long, steep rocky path. In the rainy season this is quite challenging. She arrives at the community center where she gets a motorcycle lift. This costs about $100 Liberian dollars (about 50 cents USD). This is another 15-minute journey on a bouncy, unpaved road.
When she arrives at the town center she takes a tricycle to the highway just off campus.
She arrives early on campus. Before class, she connects with other staff and then heads to her classroom, where there are always students awaiting her arrival.
Bessie does some morning preparation and readies herself for her students 8am arrival. She teaches her third grade students all of their required subjects. At 10:30am, the students have a lunch break and she uses that time to grade assignments, pour another cup of tea, and prepare for the busy afternoon. She teaches throughout the afternoon until school is dismissed at 2pm.
On her way out, she stops to get a recharge card (buys minutes) for her phone. Bessie doesn't head home but attends college in the evenings. She and fellow Hope second grade teacher Josephine Appleton attend the Licosess College of Education where they are enhancing their degrees in Primary Education.
Her college classes end at 6pm and Bessie begins the journey home, stopping by a vendor shop to pay to recharge her home electrical meter.
After having left home at 6am, she arrives home at 7:45pm where her daughter has prepared her one full meal of the day. Bessie showers and then spends time with her daughter and granddaughter before calling it a day.
We would like to thank Bessie for opening her home and sharing her daily routine with us.
This GivingTuesday will you join us in reaching our goal of $4,000? For Bessie and for the 70+ others who extend Hope each and every day. Together, we will make an ordinary Tuesday extraordinary.
