November 1, 2011
For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert (801) 863-6807
Written by: Cheryl Kamenski (801) 863-6351

The first lady of Honduras, Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, will be at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Nov. 9, to talk about “Honduras in the Eye of the Storm: International Problems Come Home.”

Her lecture, hosted by UVU’s Office of International Affairs & Diplomacy and UVU’s Center for the Study of Ethics, will take place at 11 a.m. in the UVU Library auditorium, room 120. It is free and open to students, faculty and the public.

“We are deeply honored to welcome the first lady of Honduras to UVU,” said Rusty Butler, associate vice president of UVU’s Office of International Affairs & Diplomacy. “This is a unique opportunity for our students and faculty to engage with an important figure from Central America.”

Since Bonilla de Lobo took over as first lady, she has introduced innovative projects to help Honduran families such as leading mobile medical teams to villages and providing backpacks of supplies to parents of infants and shoes to children.

She is involved in programs aimed at improving the nutrition of families in the country’s most remote regions, increasing dental supplies and care for children and reducing infant mortality by boosting healthcare.

Honduras, a mountainous country slightly larger than Tennessee, is one of the poorest countries in Central America with approximately 65 percent of its 8.1 million people living in poverty.

The first lady’s husband, Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo Sosa, was sworn in as president of Honduras in January 2010, bringing an end to a political crisis that deepened after a coup against the existing government.

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The first lady of Honduras, Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, will speak at UVU on Nov. 9

About UVU

Utah Valley University is located in Orem, Utah, and is home to nearly 33,000 students. UVU began as a vocational school during World War II, and in the seven decades since has evolved into a technical school, community college, state college and, finally, a comprehensive regional teaching university. UVU is one of Utahís largest institutions of higher learning and offers programs ranging from career training to high-demand master degrees, with emphasis on undergraduate education.