Remember Berenika Memorial Fund
Donation protected
Berenika Stefanska died in her beloved adopted home of Kenya on Thursday, September 8, 2016. She was 33 years old. Berenika spent her final moments where she loved to be -- flying in a Cessna by spectacular Lake Naivasha.
As photos, reflections, paintings, and thank-you letters pour in from around the world there’s no mistaking the indelible impression Berenika made on people who met her just briefly, friends from years ago, and those who considered her like family. Sixteen-year-old Mairi’s words capture a sentiment expressed by many: “Most of all, thank you for being so inspiring. I've never met someone with such energy and enthusiasm for life. It was truly mesmerizing, and it's now made me realize that life is too short to put off doing what you want.”
Berenika was generous and fiery, independent and loyal. When she wasn’t at home in Nairobi with her cat Gremlin, she was often exploring rural Kenya, trekking solo, camping under the wing of an airplane, or madly driving around in her Starlet. (She refused to see her tiny car as incapable of handling the same “roads” typically requiring a 4x4.) Then she would swap her trademark leather hat and high-heeled sandals for a headscarf and safari boots and travel to Somalia to film projects set up by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. (Watch her videos.) She first honed her videography skills covering the lead-up to independence in South Sudan for Reuters and continued to cover news events and especially stories about conservation for TVP Polonia and Wiez newspaper. She had plans to write a book about Somalia in Polish, build a library for the aero club at Nairobi’s Wilson airport, and eventually, one day, spot the elusive aardvark.
Berenika flew her first solo training flight in April 2014 -- a feat that left her floating for weeks and opened up a new world of adventure for our dear friend. Like a modern-day Beryl Markham, the famed aviator and author of West with the Night, our adored “B” saw no limits to where her dreams and curiosity could take her.
We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft, and how a craft can be master of an element. I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup. I learned to watch, to put my trust in other hands than mine. And I learned to wander. I learned what every dreaming child needs to know -- that no horizon is so far that you cannot get above it or beyond it.
-- Beryl Markham (1942)
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To honor Berenika’s remarkable life and passions, we are collecting memorial gifts in her name. Her family will decide where to direct the funds in the coming weeks, and we’ll keep you updated as arrangements come together.
Read more about Berenika’s remarkable adventures in her own words.
As photos, reflections, paintings, and thank-you letters pour in from around the world there’s no mistaking the indelible impression Berenika made on people who met her just briefly, friends from years ago, and those who considered her like family. Sixteen-year-old Mairi’s words capture a sentiment expressed by many: “Most of all, thank you for being so inspiring. I've never met someone with such energy and enthusiasm for life. It was truly mesmerizing, and it's now made me realize that life is too short to put off doing what you want.”
Berenika was generous and fiery, independent and loyal. When she wasn’t at home in Nairobi with her cat Gremlin, she was often exploring rural Kenya, trekking solo, camping under the wing of an airplane, or madly driving around in her Starlet. (She refused to see her tiny car as incapable of handling the same “roads” typically requiring a 4x4.) Then she would swap her trademark leather hat and high-heeled sandals for a headscarf and safari boots and travel to Somalia to film projects set up by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. (Watch her videos.) She first honed her videography skills covering the lead-up to independence in South Sudan for Reuters and continued to cover news events and especially stories about conservation for TVP Polonia and Wiez newspaper. She had plans to write a book about Somalia in Polish, build a library for the aero club at Nairobi’s Wilson airport, and eventually, one day, spot the elusive aardvark.
Berenika flew her first solo training flight in April 2014 -- a feat that left her floating for weeks and opened up a new world of adventure for our dear friend. Like a modern-day Beryl Markham, the famed aviator and author of West with the Night, our adored “B” saw no limits to where her dreams and curiosity could take her.
We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft, and how a craft can be master of an element. I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup. I learned to watch, to put my trust in other hands than mine. And I learned to wander. I learned what every dreaming child needs to know -- that no horizon is so far that you cannot get above it or beyond it.
-- Beryl Markham (1942)
+ + +
To honor Berenika’s remarkable life and passions, we are collecting memorial gifts in her name. Her family will decide where to direct the funds in the coming weeks, and we’ll keep you updated as arrangements come together.
Read more about Berenika’s remarkable adventures in her own words.
Organizer and beneficiary
Laura Heaton
Organizer
Salem, OR
Lindsey Pollaczek
Beneficiary
