Harvey Senior and Ubuntu Founder Share a Special Moment

Katonah- It has been quite a senior year so far for Chinasa Nwokocha, better known on the Harvey School campus as “CeCe.”

In recent weeks, CeCe, a Bronx resident, has earned a Cavalier Scholar certificate,  a conference honor from Model UN, and also All-League recognition in basketball, but yesterday, it might have been the hug she received from Whitney Johnson at a school assembly that meant the most to her.

Johnson, the founder and executive director of Ubuntu Africa (UBA), inspired CeCe to create a fashion show in February to raise money for the organization that serves the needs of HIV+ children in South Africa. At the headmaster’s weekly meeting Tuesday, CeCe handed the Ubuntu founder and Bedford native a check for $2,500 - money raised from the proceeds of the fashion show and a bake sale.  CeCe also had the honor of giving her friend Whitney a present, a bell inscribed with “Harvey” that Headmaster Barry Fenstermacher wished her to have as a symbol of the close bond the school has with her, the woman who has inspired many with her tireless efforts on behalf of HIV+ children.  Her organization teaches these children that they can have healthy, happy, and long productive lives.

CeCe says producing the very successful fashion show for Ubuntu has been her “most prominent accomplishment” over her four years at Harvey.  CeCe admits she is “outgoing” and rarely at a loss for words, but she found herself struggling to speak when she handed over the check from the fashion show. “My emotions got the best of me and I spoke in a very soft, low voice. Thinking about the event every day, then having the woman who inspired me right before my eyes again was pretty breath-taking. When I walked up to her and said ‘hello’ and she gave me a big hug, it almost made me tear.”

CeCe said she was also emotional when Johnson presented her with a framed copy of an article on the fashion show from the local paper. It included a photo of CeCe.

“I’ll definitely carry it with me and hang in my first dorm room next year in college and bring it everywhere I go,” CeCe said. “When I am in the office of my future multi-million dollar business company,” she added, “I can look at that picture and remember my first ‘business’ project.” 

Johnson, who established Ubuntu Africa as a 21-year-old in 2006, says she deeply appreciates what CeCe and other young people do for her non-profit organization. “When people like CeCe are inspired enough to use their time, energy and creativity to join UBA in our mission to provide life-thriving care to HIV+ children in underserved communities in South Africa, there is no greater validation for the work I do.  I am inspired by them and it makes me feel incredibly optimistic about their future, the future of UBA's children, and the future of the world.”

While CeCe does not yet know where she is going to college next year, she says she will continue to be inspired by Whitney Johnson and looks forward to the future “forever grateful” to all the people who supported her.