The locality of Lebam, 3 km from Guiberoua in the Region of Gôh (west), vibrantly welcomed on 22 January, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Ms. Aïchatou Mindaoudou and her delegation. The inhabitants of this multi-ethnic hamlet, led by the village Chief came out in large numbers to express their gratitude to UNOCI during an official ceremony which was presided over by the Deputy Prefect of Guiberoua, N'Guessan N'Guessan, the Director of National Education, the administrative and security authorities.



"Our children will now go safely to school and our parents will drink clean water," the Mayor of Guiberoua Bernard Ziallo, happily said in his opening remarks.



For his part, the Regional Director of Education, Goze Silué, magnified the actions of UNOCI which according to him, will help enhance education in the region.



The President of the NGO New Vision, Roger Koukpo, highlighted the impact of recent training sessions organized by UNOCI at the benefit of the local civil society. This, he explained, "has allowed the people of the village to better their rights and subsequently defend them." He therefore encouraged parents to enroll all children in school and asked them to take good care of the three classrooms rehabilitated by UNOCI, as well as the new hydraulic pumps.



Ms. Mindaoudou reminded the audience of the mandate and the role of UNOCI, as well as the activities undertaken by the Mission. "UNOCI is a peacekeeping operation that intervenes in several fields, including training of targeted audiences, organized by various components of the UN Mission such as Human Rights, Civil Affairs, and Public Information divisions, for the benefit of several partners and the population of Côte d'Ivoire in general. These training sessions are aimed at strengthening social cohesion, "she said.



Speaking about the rehabilitation of the three classrooms, Ms. Mindaoudou said that "small kids of today will be tomorrow's great achievers. The aim of any school is to "forge the mind of children in order to build the future. School is the community place where all children, without distinction of race, ethnicity or religion, can find themselves together, "she stated, while expressing the hope that the Goh region continues to be a peace heaven and a place where social cohesion will be preserved."



The Sub-Prefect, N'Guessan N'Guessan, echoed the Special Representative's words by recalling the actions of UNOCI, laying stress on the extensive travel recently undertaken by the Special Representative in the region and that had, according to him, helped maintain social cohesion and a climate of peace.



The EPP Lebam was founded in 1967. The school currently has 162 students (87 girls and 75 boys).