Dear Friends of Hope,

Early last week I was writing a 2-part email to you about, Hope International night school teacher, Moses (who we first introduced you to in January 2020) and his magical classroom of K-1 adult students who attend school each night at Hope International.

It is with the deepest sadness that we share Moses unexpectedly passed away on Thursday, April 6th. He lost consciousness while teaching Wednesday and was taken to a hospital where he died the next morning.

Words are hard to come by here. During our recent trip to Liberia, we spent a full evening attending his class. He was full of joy and vigor, and it seemed he had aged in reverse over the last few years.

We were mesmerized at his teaching and the student’s obvious love for and connection to him. They hung on to his every word. Even the evening security guard stood in the window each night hoping to learn. Moses was that kind of teacher.

Many of you shared money and we were able to send Moses to Ghana (his first airplane trip), to replace his broken hearing aid (there were none available in Liberia). I fully believe that this gift that you, the Hope community, collectively made possible, reinvigorated him, and made his passion for teaching adult learners even stronger.

Moses’s impact over the last 10 years at Hope International cannot be easily communicated. His devotion to and celebration of students, who found themselves learning to read as adults, was such a beautiful and hope-filled thing to witness.

May we all create a life that expresses the generosity of spirit that Moses’s did. We will love and miss you forever Moses.

Together in Grief,
Jackie