Helen Betah

A Star that lit Our Minds
Helen Eno Betah, MPH

Mrs. Helen Eno Betah was born in Kumba, Cameroon on June 7th 1952. She passed away peacefully on April 29th 2015 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She was the daughter of Hans Eno and Agnes Ndige Tabi
Young Helen attended the Presbyterian Primary School in Kumba, before winning a government scholarship to attend the Presbyterian Secondary School in Besongabang. She later continued secondary school in Lycee Bilingue Essos, Yaounde. Helen obtained the First School Leaving Certificate, General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level, and the General Certificate of Education Advanced Level. She completed further studies and obtained a Certificate in Administrative Management at the University of London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Information Systems at the University of Liverpool, U.K. From 1995 to 1996, she was a Humphrey Fellow at Stanford University in California. Her final educational achievement was obtaining a MPH in 1998 from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Helen worked as a contract officer in the Health Information Systems Unit of the Ministry of Public Health in Cameroon. She also worked as an intern at the UNICEF Headquarters in New York for one year. For seventeen years she worked with the New York Life Insurance Company as an agent, underwriter and as a Financial Advisor. Her brilliant career at the New York Life earned her many awards.

Helen was married to Samuel Sona Betah with whom they had five children: Donald Mukete Betah, Harrison Eno Betah, Franklin Mbelle Betah, Wendy Etane Betah, and Samuel Sona Betah. She was a very loving, caring and protective mother and worked for the supreme interest of her immediate and extended families.
She was a person of strong character, was very hard working, well organized, clean, excellent cook, loved to crack jokes, an ice breaker, a devoted Presbyterian Christian, and a lover of gospel music. She sang in several choirs like the Congregational Choir in Bastos Yaounde, the Chancel Choir of the Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church in Maryland, and the Bethel Choir (Makom), to just name a few.

Helen was a leader and played active roles in different religious and social groups such as the Christian Women Fellowship where she was a pioneer President of the Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church chapter. She indeed was a Star that lit the minds of all she came across.

The legacy Helen Betah leaves behind is to be hard working, have trust in God, and also attend to the needs of others.

May her soul rest in peace!!!

Philippians 1:21
For to me, living in Christ and to die is gain
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.