What is in a name?
Our school in Abakaliki, Nigeria is the Kassie Braun Memorial School. Here is the story behind our name, told by AEO's founder, Rev. Dr. JohnBosco O. Ikemeh.
"Her name was Kassandra Arielle Therese Braun and she was my goddaughter.
I remember strolling with her mother through the malls of Mechanicsburg and York, Pennsylvania– and Kassie dashing off to greet everyone in the mall. No one was a stranger in Kassie’s world; she had no enemy. Her smile would melt away your pain.
The Buddhist monks built a shrine to honor her at the grounds where she fell to her death in Myanmar. In her, they saw a woman radiant enough to be a goddess. To me, she is my saint, Saint Kassie Braun.
Kassie grew up in a comfortable family in Fishers, Indiana, but she wanted to reach out to the bigger world. She believed that “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” She could not walk away from the suffering of others and sought to ease others' pain—whether a stranger, a neighbor, or even a wounded animal.
Her heart called her to the world, to be an ambassador of love. She wrote to me from West Africa: “Dad, when I graduate, I am coming here to teach. I could help.”She wanted others to have what she had; she was always willing to give.
But she never made it back to West Africa; she died before she returned from that trip. “My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours.”
We still struggle to make sense of a life so beautiful, cut short. Yet Kassie awakened us from insensitivity to the plight of others. Kassie's parents, David and Chalene Braun, are no longer simply dropping checks into the collection basket for the poor. They are traveling the world, holding hands with the poor, believing in #KassieKares. Kassie’s spirit challenges us all to reach out and help others, especially those that are less privileged than we are.
Though she did not live to teach in West Africa, she has returned here in spirit. Through the school that bears her name, her love will touch students for generations to come. Our school in Abakaliki, Nigeria is the
Kassie Braun Memorial School after my daughter, my saint, Kassie Braun.
When the time came to name the school, I wanted to call it 'Karis,' meaning grace or gift, because I believe my life is a gift. My favorite scripture is John 1:16: 'Out of his fullness, we have received grace upon grace.' But the name was already taken.
What is in a name? 'I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring about the future you hope for.' This school carries more than Kassie’s name; it is the embodiment of her spirit and her values. These are the values that all those who pass through the doors of this school will imbibe, live and share.
I invite you to join us in keeping Kassie’s dream alive: a better world for everyone, especially those with the least. As the scripture reminds us: 'Freely you have received; freely give.' This is the work God calls us all to do. Thank you and God bless you."
-Rev. Dr. JohnBosco O. Ikemeh