A check of a whopping L$100,000 was recently presented to the Principal/Administrator of the Haywood Mission Institute, by the Proprietor of WELTONA CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL, located in Duport Road, Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
Isaac Peters, Principal of the Institute, alongside members of his administration, paid a surprise visit to the office of Bishop Leo M. Simpson and presented him the check bearing the aforementioned sum.
The head of delegation to the office of the Bishop said this gesture is in appreciation of the Bishop for his many contributions in safeguarding the Liberian child educationally, coupled with many other sacrifices made over the years in the areas of education, Christendom, and humanity.
He said the H.M.I. Principal/Administrator made an impact on the Old Road, which made him interested in seeking education, and also with the passion that one day, he would attend the Haywood Mission Institute.
He furthered that that dream never come to pass, as his parents could not afford to send him to Haywood due to lack of money, and this landed him at the William V.S. Tubman High School, from where he graduated.
Peters said another motivating factor of Bishop Simpson to him was the radio program. Then, the “Hour of Power” broadcast in the 1970s on the air waves also drew him closer to Bishop Simpson, adding, “He is my role model.”
He described him as an educational diplomat whose present is felt in and out of Liberia by the many students whose lives he had touched, and a man discipline, who “never let go the fufu stick in correcting his students.”
In response, the honoree and recipient of the Mother Weltona Award for the year 2023 of the Weltona Christian High School, thanked Isaac Peters and administration of the school for the welcome surprise, and promised to do more in the direction from which the amount and the award came, in the interest of the country and its people.
It can be recalled that on September 30, 2023, at the 11th Graduation convocation of the Weltona Christian High School, to which Bishop Simpson was invited as special guest, he informed the administration of the Institute that they would honor him. But he said little did he know that the school would have lived up to that promise, and he is grateful for the gesture.
He said, “In this life, in all that you do, do it to the best of your ability, for you can never tell who is watching you. For your good work will pay off some day, either in cash or kind.”
He continued that as one that people follow for your position or role in society, always be a servant leader, for you have the power to make an impact on them, positively or negatively.
Haywood Mission Institute is today one of the oldest and most reputable institutions of learning in the Republic of Liberia, with the aim to uplift people from illiteracy to make positive contributions to the Liberian Society. Bishop Leo M. Simpson is also the presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World 35th Episcopal District West African Council.