Liberia
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Liberian President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's First Elected Female Head
of State to be Honored at 2007 Africare Award
Dinner The
2007 Africare Bishop Walker Dinner, to be held on
Thursday, October 18, in Washington , D.C. , will
honor Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who
will receive the Bishop John T. Walker
Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award. The
award is given annually to the people who have made
major contributions to the continent of Africa
. Prior recipients include former Presidents
Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, then President
Nelson Mandela, Andrew Young, Dorothy I. Height,
Graca Machel, former Secretary of State Colin
Powell, and philanthropists Bill and Melinda
Gates. The Africare Dinner is now the largest
annual event for Africa in the United "We symbolically chose
International Women's Day to announce President
Johnson Sirleaf as Africare's 2007 honoree," noted
Africare Senior Vice President Jeannine B.
Scott. "As the first elected female head of
state in Africa , President Johnson Sirleaf
embodies the progress of women in achieving
leadership positions on the continent. At the
2007 Africare Bishop Walker Dinner, Africare will
pay tribute to her efforts to bring peace, economic
prosperity, and a bright future for the people of
Liberia Africare's work endeavors to do the same
thing, every day." Similar to the mission of
International Women's Day&emdash;a tribute to the
global celebration of women of the past, present
and future-- the October Africare Dinner will
center on themes of "Women's Empowerment," in
addition to honoring Africa's first female
president. The Africare Dinner is named
after the late John T. Walker, the first
African-American Episcopal Bishop of Washington,
D.C., and long-time Chairman of Africare. Bishop
Walker passed away on September 30,
1989. Event proceeds will support
Africare's mission of humanitarian
assistance. Africare is a leader in aid to
Africa as well as the oldest and largest
African-American organization specializing in
African aid. Over its 37-year history, Africare has
delivered more than $592 million in
assistance&emdash;representing over 2,000 projects
and millions of beneficiaries&emdash;to 36
countries Africa-wide. Today, Africare's 150-plus
programs reach families and communities in 25
nations in every region of Sub-Saharan Africa.
For more information about
the 2007 Africare Bishop Walker Dinner, contact the
event office at (202) 328-5364 or
dinner@africare.org. 202.328.5362 (o)202.387.1034
(c) neley@africare.org |