Exit
even took a leave of absence from
Northwestern University for further study of his teachings.
“I had many questions about
the purpose of my life,” Berndt
says. “I visited other churches,
a synagogue and had just about
come to believe that maybe there
just were no answers, and I should
just do the best I could do as an
individual to help others. But Dr.
Moon’s teaching really answered
my questions to the point that my
very soul felt satisfied.”
And when her husband
signed up for missionary work
in 1998 through the Unification
Church and received the Gambia,
Berndt followed suit for her
own trip in 1999.
THE REPUBLIC OF GAMBIA
“I had felt like I’ve been there
before. I have no ancestral connection or any kind of connection that I know of, but I just
really felt that I was home,” says
the Bowie, M.D. resident, describing her “uncanny” first impression of Gambia.
Berndt, New Hope Academy
and many other organizations
such as The Women’s Federation
for Peace, work together to raise
money for scholarships for chil-
GREATEST PERSON
OF THE WEEK
HUFFINGTON
09.30.12
dren in Gambia to continue their
education. The government only
subsidizes education until the
sixth grade, and after that, the
cost of schooling is about $100
per year, an amount most Gambians cannot pay.
In addition to raising funds for
scholarships, Berndt travels to
Gambia to continue her summer
program every year, which consists
of service projects and commu-
They all agreed to stand
on the program even though
I couldn’t give them the
stipend anymore. Even now
when I think about it tears
come to my eyes.”
nity discussions about issues such
as AIDS prevention. She usually
gives the students in her program
a couple of dollars a week as a
stipend. Berndt recalls the year
she had allotted for exactly 20
students to help her aid the community when six more approached
her hoping to join the program. It
was c X\