Ishmael Gabbidon started his UDS journey at age 13 in 2013 as an academic scholarship student at Russ Wood School. With both parents deceased, his grandma raised him. He demonstrated his talents early in life as a poet and writer. As the youngest attendee at our 2013 youth leadership workshop, he recited one of his parables. Starting in 2013, he acted as UDS’s master of ceremonies and directed student skits.
In 2014, we participated in our first virtual Nobel Peace Prize Youth Forum, and the group selected him to ask questions from Liberia. Over in Minnesota at Augsburg University, Leymah Gbowee, a 2011 Nobel Laurette, listened to his question, “How could Liberian youth become peacebuilders?” in 2019, Leymah visited his high school, and he introduced himself as the boy who asked the question from Liberia. She remembered him and shared about the launching of her peace-building program.
In 2016, Ishmael was one of over a hundred students who attended our pilot computer course operating from Kelvin Fomba’s house (UDS Co-Founder & Director). The skills he gained from this course would change his life forever. He quickly found ways to earn money and continue to learn more about computers.
After the disruption of COVID, he graduated as class valedictorian from Independent Bethlehem Baptist High School in 2021. He had been working and saving money, and he enrolled at African Methodist Episcopal University in 2022 and paid for his tuition every semester. His focus was an accounting major and a management minor. As of 2024, he was a junior.
Throughout his tenure with UDS, he found ways to give back to the organization. Upon completing his first college semester in July 2022, he shared his intentions about helping others.
Ishmael seized every opportunity UDS provided and recently considered taking our driver’s education course. He realized his star potential, which led him to every milestone.
His bright and promising future was cut short on March 10, yet his presence will never be forgotten. He left many people heartbroken because they planned to celebrate his 24th birthday on March 17.
UDS hosted the wake on March 15, and his burial was the next day. Please join us in praying for his family and friends as they navigate the grieving process.
