It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Dr. Hank Bersani, Member of the Board of Directors of the Forgotten People Foundation. Hank was struck by an automobile while bicycling and was killed instantly on Highway 99W near his home in Monmouth, Oregon; details here.  Hank will always be remembered for his infectious laugh and his enormous heart for individuals living in difficult circumstances such as those served by the Forgotten People Foundation.

Hank had traveled to Hanoi twice to visit FPF projects and coordinate new work in leprosy advocacy. On these trips, he befriended everyone he met and was a true ambassador between our organization and the rural citizens of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces. Hank was planning a trip for December ’12 with a group of local high school students. This trip will continue in his memory.

Hank was 61 years old, an accomplished scholar in disability studies at Western Oregon University, and was the recipient of many prestigious awards and recognitions during his career.

Please join me in pledging $1 for each year of Hank’s life to remember his life and his work with the Forgotten People Foundation. Through your generosity, his legacy can live on in changed lives in rural, northern Vietnam.

                    Donate here in remembrance of Hank

Please read more about Hank here, here, and contribute to the blog in his memory.

And in parting, here is Hank with some of the kids he loved so much...