NN is proud to announce our reporter Mae Azango, of FrontPage Africa, has been awarded a newly created reporting fellowship in honor of Minnie Lee Walker. The fellowship is given by the Alliance for East Africa, an organization that supports grass roots programs in Africa. It was started by Mrs Walker’s daughter Jean Wr. The award will support Mae’s continued efforts to bring important information, particularly on health matters, to Liberia’s people.

From AEA:

“Minnie Lee Walker was a young girl from Moorehead, Mississippi with big ideas. She and her husband Melvin raised five children in Ruleville, Mississippi. Circumstance, lack of formal education, and reality dashed a lot of her ideas, but her faith lives on.

For years she encouraged her daughters (Mamie and Jean), to write letters to congressmen, politicians, even world leaders, asking for their help in improving conditions and creating jobs for citizens.

Most of the letters probably ended up in the trash, and she never got a reply. Faithfully she continued to write.

One day a letter arrived from Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the President of the United States from 1963-1969. She was ecstatic. How Lady Bird Johnson could help the Mississippi Delta was a mystery, but that one response was encouraging.

For her encouragement, faith, humor, and love, we establish this award in her honor.

AEA is honored to give this award to Mae Azango, a true leader in her field. Her brave stance in the face of danger, will save many women from undue suffering and grief. On behalf of my mother Mrs. Minnie Lee Edwards Walker, we award this fellowship to Mae. We thank New Narratives for their leadership in this important field of media.”