Africa's First Elected Female Head of State to be Honored at 2007 Africare Award Dinner

8 March 2007
Content from a Premium Partner
Africare (Washington, DC)
press release

Washington, D.C. — 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 States.

“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—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—representing over 2,000 projects and millions of beneficiaries—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 .

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