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On Friday, March 6, U.S. Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Lisa Johnson hosted a reception at Liberty Overlook in honor of Ms. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC).\u00a0 Among the invited guests on hand for the event were Mrs. Anne Marie Davis, wife of Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, Minister of Labour and National Insurance The Hon. Shane Gibson and Member of Parliament for Long Island Loretta Butler-Turner.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s International Women of Courage Award was established in 2007 and honors women around the globe who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women\u2019s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk.\u00a0 U.S. Embassy Nassau has established a tradition of hosting an event in March in honor of both the local Woman of Courage nominee and Women\u2019s History Month.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Culmer was nominated for the 2015 Secretary\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage for her role in advocating for laws to protect disabled people.\u00a0 Her persistence and tenacity played an integral role in bringing legislation to Parliament, resulting in the July adoption of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Act of 2014.<\/p>\n
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In her formal remarks, Charg\u00e9 Johnson lauded Mrs. Culmer for being a nation builder who has given her life to assisting members of the disabled community and for her efforts to ensure full access and equality.\u00a0 \u201cHer efforts have empowered the disabled to further their education, seek employment and become productive citizens of the society,\u201d she said.\u00a0 The Charg\u00e9 added, \u201cMs. Culmer\u2019s work is an inspiration and encouragement to many, including the parents and caregivers who give tirelessly of themselves day in and day out to provide a safe and nurturing environment for disabled children and adults.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In her response, Mrs. Culmer stated, \u201cI am honored, privileged and humbled to have had the opportunity to be a voice for those who are often not heard or lost in the crowd: the disabled community.\u201d\u00a0 She added, \u201cI sincerely thank the United States Embassy for recognizing me for what I now know is my vocation and passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
United States Embassy, Nassau, Bahamas <\/em><\/span> U.S. Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Lisa Johnson with Mrs. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC). <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Mrs. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC) with the Embassy\u2019s Political Specialist Anne Marie Bain and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Neda Brown<\/em><\/span> U.S. Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Lisa Johnson with Mrs. Anne Marie Davis, wife of Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, Mrs. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for IWOC and Minister of Labour and National Insurance The Hon. Shane Gibson.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span> Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Lisa Johnson hosted a reception at Liberty Overlook in honor of Ms. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":105117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[204,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"us-embassy-nassau-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/us-embassy-nassau-2.jpg\")
Previous U.S. Embassy Nassau Woman of Courage honorees include Ms. Andrea Archer for her role in providing education for teenage mothers; The Honorable Janet Bostwick, recognized for her role in the women\u2019s labor movement; Ms. A. Missouri Sherman-Peter for her exemplary career in the Bahamian Civil and Foreign Service; Dr. Sandra Dean Patterson, founder and director of The Crisis Center; and Mrs. Rosa Mae Bain for her work with HIV\/AIDs research.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\n Captions in order from top to bottom:<\/em><\/span>
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\n Mrs. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC) flanked by representatives from the Bahamas National Council for Disability and other invited guests. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\n U.S. Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires Lisa Johnson with Mrs. Sheila Culmer, U.S. Embassy Nassau\u2019s nominee for the 2015 U.S. Secretary of State\u2019s Award for International Women of Courage (IWOC) and former award recipients Ms. Andrea Archer, Rosa Mae Bain and The Honorable Janet Bostwick. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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