New year wishes to Mrs Dominique Ouattara

Dear sisters,

It’s a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the New Year wishes ceremony.

 

Before I start, I wish to express my warm greetings to you and welcome you to the ceremony.

I also wish to thank you for your kind words and the wonderful presents I have received.

I feel very special, thank you for your kind attention.

 

My dear sisters,

Thank you for your wishes full of emotion and kindness red out by the Minister of Family, our sister LY Ramata, and by the President of Ambassadors.

In return, I wish you and your family happiness, joy and sweetness.

 

I also convey to you the best wishes from my dear husband, President Alassane OUATTARA.

 

My dear sisters,

Last year was full of joy, rich experiences and celebration. I feel happy to have been able to share those special moments with you, during which we carried out important programs for the well-being of our people.

 

Indeed, in March 2018 during the 7^th Charity Dinner we hosted in Abidjan, we celebrated Children of Africa Foundation’s 20^th anniversary. The event which brought together several national and international personalities, was our main event of the year.

 

I still remember with great emotion these moments that allowed us to show our appreciation to all our generous donors.

 

Their support has helped us to carry on with our charity programs on behalf of the poorest for more than 20 years. We are very grateful to them.

 

We also inaugurated in March 2018 the biggest project of Children of Africa Foundation, the Mother and Child’s Hospital of Bingerville.

 

This hospital shows our commitment to improving the living conditions of our people.

 

At this point in my remark, allow me to express my heartfelt thanks to my sisters ambassadors for the voluntary support they provide to the hospital on a regular basis. Indeed, they spend several hours with patients and bring presents to vulnerable families.

Thanks to Ms Farida BOUGUETAIA, President of the Association of Ambassadors, for taking the lead in this generous initiative.

 

As part of the fight against child labour, the Foundation also inaugurated last June, the children’s center of Soubré for children involved into trafficking and child labour. This center were entirely built and equipped  with the support of our generous donors.

It houses temporarily child victims of trafficking before they return back home. To date, about fifty children have been rescued from the hands of traffickers and sent to the shelter where they receive love, education and care they need to grow up in good conditions.

 

As regards to women’s empowerment in Côte d’Ivoire, the FAFCI project (Women’s Support Fund) currently has 165,000 beneficiaries across the country.

This was made possible thanks to the political will of my dear husband, the President of the Republic, who kindly provided us with 10 billion FCFA.

 

This was also possible, thanks to the commitment of our sisters throughout Côte d’Ivoire, who were able to manage their projects well and to repay the loans they received. In this way, they can take care of their families and become independent woman.

We think that this figure should rise up, in view of the requests we receive regularly.

 

My dear sisters,

I would like to take this opportunity to greet each one of you :

• Members of the Gouvernement,
• Elected officials,
• Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
• Wives of Presidents of Institutions and Ministers’ wives
• Ambassadors,
• Presidents and General Managers,
• Business Executives and Officers,
• Medical team,
• Lecturers and Journalists,
• Opinion leaders,
• Political leaders,
• Presidents of NGOs and agricultural cooperatives,
• Women in the informal sector and the private sector,
• To all my dear sisters here,

Congratulations for the remarkable job you have been doing to build our beautiful country and to give time to those who need it. You are amaizing, each one of you plays a vital role for the development of our country and for the growth of Africa.

 

I truly believe that this year again, you will be able to meet the challenges that will come up to you in the role that will have to play.

My dear sisters,

Before I close, allow me to thank my  entire staff and all those working tirelessly for the Mother and Child’s –Hospital of Bingerville.

 

Thanks to  all our volunteers for giving their time for the well-being of the poor.

Without their efforts, nothing would have been possible. I am very grateful to you !

 

My dear sisters,               

Finally, I renew to each one of you my best wishes for health, peace and happiness for the new year.

 

I wish you all a good time.

 

Thank you.