Exit
that will win everybody’s heart,”
she says. “He’s like a son to me.”
COURTESY OF BEVERLY BERNDT
FORWARD
Last February, after noticing Berndt featured on The Huffington
Post’s Greatest Person of the Day,
the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association awarded
Berndt the Shining World Compassion award and a $10,000 check to
go toward further projects in her
service-learning program. Supreme
Master Ching Hai, head of the Taiwan-based association, is a spiritual leader and businesswoman
who funds the award with money
through her own ventures.
GREATEST PERSON
OF THE WEEK
Thanks to the prize money, Berndt has provided funding for a new
well in a village with no healthy
water supply, helped finish building
a mosque that serves as a community center, and set aside money for
scholarships and future community
service projects.
When asked for a particular
event during her time in Gambia
that resonated with her, Berndt was
silent for some time. She later explained that it was “almost impossible to narrow down to one or 100
events because it really is the daily
words and actions of the people
there” that have collectively left an
impression on her.
Josh Flynn contributed
to this report.
HUFFINGTON
09.30.12
Berndt,
center, poses
with the
teens from
her Service
for Peace
Side by Side
program.