Clarence Holbert, the gentleman who designed the Eritrean currency, the Nakfa, passed away

Clarence Holbert, who designed the Eritrean currency, passed away

Clarence Holbert, the gentleman who designed the Eritrean currency, the Nakfa, passed away on 9th January 2018. His funeral was on 23 January 2018. Bitsay Dawit Haile, representing the Eritrean Embassy and I, representing the National Council of Eritrean Americans, attended his funeral. His wife Cynthia was happy to see us there and said that her husband was very proud of his contribution to Eritrea.

Bitsay Dawit extended condolences on behalf of Eritreans to the family of Mr. Holbert and spoke briefly of his legacy here in the United States and in Eritrea, as the first African American to design an African currency-the Eritrean Nakfa.

Several Bishops and Reverends from the DMV attended and spoke eloquently of his life of service to his community. They spoke of his honesty and integrity. They said he was humble, courageous and an example of “a willing worker always being at risk”, as others tried to take credit for work he had done.

The family put a Nakfa note on his lapel and spoke of his legacy as being tied to Eritrea forever. A friend of the family said that she had donated her autographed Nakfa bill to the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, so that many others could see his work.

The family said they wanted to maintain the relationship with the Eritrean community and will stay in touch. We promised to do the same…

Rest in peace Mr. Holbert- your legacy and the Nakfa will remain strong…

Published by Sophia T. @ FB