The association of the First Lady handed over a refurbished Bangourain Centre School as well as other gifts to women and girls in the region last Saturday November 21, 2015.
Cameroon’s First Lady, Mrs Chantal Biya, who is also UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social Inclusion, has once more demonstrated that her designation as UNESCO’s Ambassador was not a mistake. On Saturday November 21, 2015, the First Lady sent a delegation of her association, the Circle of Friends of Cameroon (CERAC), to the Noun Division of the West Region, precisely at the Bangourain Sub-Division not just to hand over the Government Primary School Bangourain Centre (Group 1A and 1B) which had been refurbished and equipped by CERAC but also to offer special gifts to the rural women and young girls in the division.
In the presence of the Governor of the West Region and several other dignitaries, Mrs Véronique Nganou Djoumessi, West Regional Delegate of CERAC, in her capacity as the personal representative of the First Lady chaired the ceremony. She was assisted during the event by Mrs Nicole Téclaire Mefiro, member of CERAC. Véronique Nganou Djoumessi told the population of the Noun Division that the First Lady is always looking for ways to help and comfort those in need that is why through her patronage, CERAC completely rehabilitated Government Primary School Bangourain Centre by renovating 10 classrooms, building four new once and two administrative blocks. CERAC also equipped the school with 600 desks, didactic material, cleaning equipment, office furniture, teachers’ tables and chairs and other modern teaching tools. The institution was also equipped with modern toilets and water catchments to enable pupils have access to potable water. CERAC also constructed a platform where the national flag will be hoisted and for pupils to learn citizenship education.
While calling on the school authorities to make good use of the gifts by teaching pupils what will greatly contribute to an emerging Cameroon, the personal representative of the First Lady also told pupils to keep their school tidy by cleaning the toilets, ensuring that the walls are clean as well as curbing bad behaviours in school. While in Bangourain, CERAC handed over sewing machines, photocopiers, printers as well as complete computer sets to the Centres for the Promotion of Women Empowerment and the Family in Foumban and Koutaba. 26 rural women associations in the locality also went home with special gifts from CERAC such as hoes, grinding machines, cutlasses, fertilizers amongst others.
The occasion was a unique opportunity for the beneficiaries as well as Basic Education authorities in the locality to express gratitude to CERAC and its Founding President, Mrs Chantal Biya, for seeing clearly what the population needed most at this moment. According to the Mayor of Bangourain “the First Lady came at the right time and only God can pay her back for her good gestures.” The Director of the Bangourain Government Primary School as well as the Regional Delegate for Basic Education promised to properly accompany the First Lady in improving basic education in Bangourian by ensuring that the gifts are secured for effective teaching and learning.
