Kind messages and special songs accompanied her stay in the economic capital.
The joy of inhabitants in the Littoral Region in receiving the First Lady, Mrs Chantal Biya, amongst them for three days could not go unnoticed. The same jubilant and enthusiastic crowd that received Mrs Biya and her husband on their arrival, November 14 at the Douala International Airport accompanied them on Saturday November 16, as they left the town after a fulfilling mission.
When the First Lady stepped out of the Presidential Plane upon arrival last Thursday, the same special songs and banners of gratitude, used in welcoming her for all that she is doing to her compatriots, also graced her departure from Douala. Major roads in the Economic Capital did not only carry the effigy of Mrs Chantal Biya whom the population calls, "Maman Chantal", but banners also depicted the profound appreciation of the people to the First Lady for her kind gestures to all people in the area. A banner from the Douala City Council read: "Mrs Chantal Biya, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social Inclusion: The population of Douala thank you for the care and concern you have always shown to them when in need."
Young people in the region as well as women also mobilised to welcome their "Maman Cherie". Along major roads in the city of Douala, passing through the Presidential Residence at the Bonanjo neighbourhood, as well as the road networks leading to the two main ceremonial ground (the laying of the Foundation Stone for a second bridge on River Wouri and the inauguration of the Logbaba Gas Field), school pupils, dance groups and women associations gathered along the road to salute the presence of Mrs Biya amongst them. The climax of the appreciations came when the Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Laurent Esso, on behalf of the elite in the area, extended the joy of the people in the region for welcoming Mrs Biya amongst them. On behalf of the elite, Laurent Esso said the goodwill gesture of CERAC to the community of Wouri V will forever be engraved in the minds of the population.
The Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Fritz Ntone Ntone during the inauguration the Logbaba Gas Field also lauded the charity works of Cameroon's First Lady. During the First Lady's stay in Douala, a CERAC delegation was visibly present at all time as if to say: we are moving forward for there is no turning back.
