Cleopatra White

Cleopatra Eugenie White was born on 28th June 1898 in British Honduras to Joseph and Maria White. She was a social worker and community leader. She was the second matron of the Black Cross Nurses Association (The first was Nurse Seay) She was one of the first formally trained nurses in Belize and was the first rural health practitioner in Gales Point and the Manatee River area of Belize. She also organized the first village council in the country, in Gales Point, recognizing the need for managing village affairs, especially in the case of hurricanes. Her model was replicated throughout Belize, and she is credited with the idea for the present village council system. She served in the relief efforts of the 1931 hurricane, Hurricane Janet (1955) and Hurricane Hattie (1961). She received a Victoria Medal in 1953 for her services from the British crown and in 1958, went to England to accept the medal of Member of the Order of the British Empire.

In 1931, after the hurricane, White helped set up the nursing facilities and supply stations for the relief effort. The barracks were located at what is now the Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport.

Recognizing the need for managing village affairs, especially when hurricane season or boating emergencies arose, White set up the first village councils in the country at Gales Point.

After Hurricane Hattie hit in 1961, White drove daily to care for those who had been gathered at what would become the village at Hattieville. She was the first nurse of the Hattieville Clinic.

In 1986, the Women’s Bureau of Belize established a prize in her honor, named the Cleopatra White Shield, for the winner of the National High School Quiz Contest. White made her last public appearance as the guest of honor at the inaugural ceremony. She died in 1987, as a pauper and resident of the Belize City Old Folks Home. After her death, the Cleopatra White Outpatient Clinic of Belize City, was established in her honor and in 1993, a postage stamp was issued picturing White and her clinic.

Source: revoly.com