Kingston resident Bendeshe Bonner was honored as a Celtics Hero Among Us for his efforts helping his village in Ethiopia by providing basic essential items and building a school. The ceremony was held during the. Boston Celtics’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 28.
Sixteen-year-old Bendeshe Bonner is living proof that “it takes a village” to raise a child.
The young man was adopted in 2007, and returned to his native Ethiopia in 2020 to reunite with his birth family. During his visit he recognized that the residents’ needs weren’t being met. When he returned to the United States, he created Bendeshe’s Village, a nonprofit that built a school and now provides school uniforms and covers tuition for more than 200 students. He hopes to expand the school’s programs and build community centers.
For building a bridge betwen his Massachusetts and Ethiopian villages and providing essential items and building a school with future plans to expand, Bonner was honored as a Hero Among Us.