| Sylvia Bongo Ondimba | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of the Gabonese Republic | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 16 October 2009 |
|
| President | Ali Bongo Ondimba |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sylvia Valentin 11 March 1965 Paris, France |
| Nationality | Gabonese |
| Profession | President of the "Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation" |
| Website | http://www.fondationsylviabongoondimba.org/ |
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba (born Valentin) was born on March 11th, 1965 in Paris. As the wife of Ali Bongo Ondimba since 1989, she became Gabon's First Lady following the inauguration of her husband as President of the Gabonese Republic on October 16th, 2009.[1][2]
Heralded for her personal commitment to promoting charitable causes,[3] Ms. Ondimba decided to dedicate her philanthropic mission[4][5] to the benefit of all Gabonese residents and, more broadly, to all Africans[6] when she created in January 2011 the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation entitled "For the family" (or "Pour la Famille" in French).[7][8]
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Sylvia Bongo Ondimba was barely 2 months old when her parents were transferred to Douala for work. She is the daughter of Edouard Valentin, a French businessman who heads the group called Omnium Gabonais d'Assurances et de Réassurances (OGAR, Gabonese Insurance and Reinsurance).[9]
Sylvia spent most of her childhood in Cameroon along with her siblings, before the family took up residence in Tunisia.
In 1974, after a long stay by the Valentin Family in Tunisia, Sylvia and her parents decided to move to Gabon, where she received an academic and christian education at the Libreville Immaculate Conception Institution. After being awarded her Baccalaureat diploma from high school, Sylvia left for France to begin her university studies.[2]
Once she graduated with an advanced-level degree (DESS) in corporate management, Ms. Valentin elected to return to Gabon.[9]
Exhibiting very strong human relations skills, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba was quickly promoted to the post of Deputy Managing Director of the country's largest real estate firm, Gabon Immobilier, where she was named responsible for the company's marketing and economic development.
With a tremendous amount of experience gained in the field, she decided to create her own wealth management firm, Alliance S.A., at the age of 25.[1]
At a business dinner in 1988, she met Ali Bongo Ondimba and married him a year later in 1989. Together, they founded a family with four children: Malika, Noureddin Edouard, Jalil Louis, and Bilal, adopted by the couple in 2002.
On October 16th 2009, she appeared alongside her husband Ali Bongo Ondimba for his swearing-in ceremony. Sylvia naturally became Gabon's First Lady.
Since her husband's rise to the highest office in the land, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba has been prominent through her philanthropic work on behalf of the least privileged, concentrating her political, social and cultural efforts on charities and charitable causes.[10] Her initiative gave rise to the project known as "the caravan through Gabon's hinterland,[11] whose mission was to record the grievances raised by residents of the country's more isolated areas. A few days later, her husband made a visit to one such area, bringing electrical appliances and farm machinery, in response to some of the needs expressed by the Gabonese people.[12]
The "Sylvia Bongo Ondimba" Foundation has come to the fore as a crowning achievement of this humanitarian action campaign and reflects the First Lady's goal of promoting the notion at the core of Gabonese society of a nation that relies upon family values,[13] seeking to inspire the participation of women[14] and youth in Gabon's development.
One of the keys to her humanitarian accomplishments most certainly remains the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a resolution[15] marking June 23[16] of each year as International Widows' Day,[17][18] from a project initiated by Sylvia Bongo Ondimba herself.[19][20]
Aware of the scourge caused by malaria running rampant in Gabon, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba donated to the Gabonese population in April 2011 a total of 1,8000 mosquito screens.[3]
Very sensitive to the plight of the disabled,[21] Sylvia acting in the capacity of the nation's First Lady concluded an agreement with a company specialized in the production of rolling stock.[22] Through this agreement, she donated in October 2010, 250 electric scooters, crutches and wheelchairs to benefit several associations working to improve life for the disabled.[23]
This humanitarian gesture, subsequent to a long series of charitable actions undertaken by Mrs. Bongo Ondimba in the aim of rallying for the social integration of vulnerable segments of the population, goes hand in hand with the Akassi[24] microfinance[16] project sponsored by her foundation and intended to facilitate entrepreneurship[25] among Gabonese women[14][26] and their families.[27][28]
In addition to her busy calendar of social events to benefit the Gabonese population, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba is also fully committed to the cause of promoting Gabon[29] on the international stage,[6][24] as highlighted by her attendance at the United Nations in February 2011.[30] This audience provided her with the opportunity to present her foundation's work, as well as convey Gabon's ambitions in the area of combating inequalities and encouraging sustainable development.[10] The international acclaim received by Sylvia Bongo Ondimba was once again on display at the United Nations during the ceremony organized by the Global Partnerships Forum (GPF),[7] when Gabon's First Lady was named Goodwill Ambassador and her foundation was granted membership status in this institution.