Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo Nantes – The Broth­er­ly Love in Ibos, Unit­ed in Pays de la Loire

Our Sto­ry: Onye aghana nwanne ya

Wel­come to the dig­i­tal home of the Asso­ci­a­tion of Igbo Com­mu­ni­ty in Nantes, fond­ly known as Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo. Our name, Obin­wanne, lit­er­ar­i­ly trans­lates to “the heart of a sib­ling” or “kin­ship,” and it is this pro­found spir­it of broth­er­hood and sis­ter­hood that forms the bedrock of our asso­ci­a­tion.

Found­ed by a small group of vision­ary Ndig­bo liv­ing in Nantes and the wider Pays de la Loire region, our asso­ci­a­tion was born from a shared desire to cre­ate a home away from home. We rec­og­nized the need for a uni­fied com­mu­ni­ty where we could not only con­nect with one anoth­er but also proud­ly uphold and pass on the rich cus­toms, tra­di­tions, and time­less val­ues of our ances­tors to our chil­dren and future gen­er­a­tions.

Here in the beau­ti­ful west­ern part of France, we are build­ing a vibrant com­mu­ni­ty where the Igbo lan­guage is spo­ken, our sto­ries are told, our her­itage is cel­e­brat­ed, and every mem­ber feels a deep sense of belong­ing and sup­port. We are more than just an asso­ci­a­tion; we are a fam­i­ly.

Our Vision (Ọhụụ Anyị)

To be the cen­tral pil­lar of sup­port, uni­ty, and cul­tur­al preser­va­tion for all Ndig­bo in Nantes and the Pays de la Loire region, fos­ter­ing a pros­per­ous and respect­ed com­mu­ni­ty where our val­ues and her­itage flour­ish.

Our Mis­sion (Ebum­nuche Anyị)

• To Unite: To bring togeth­er all peo­ple of Igbo descent liv­ing in our region for mutu­al sup­port, net­work­ing, and fel­low­ship.
• To Pro­mote: To active­ly pro­mote and cel­e­brate Igbo cul­ture, lan­guage, cus­toms, and tra­di­tions through events, work­shops, and edu­ca­tion­al pro­grams.
• To Sup­port: To pro­vide a net­work of sup­port for our mem­bers in times of joy and hard­ship, embody­ing the true spir­it of nwanne.
• To Empow­er: To empow­er our youth with a strong sense of their Igbo iden­ti­ty and equip them with the knowl­edge of their her­itage.
• To Bridge: To build a pos­i­tive rela­tion­ship with our host com­mu­ni­ty in France, shar­ing the beau­ty of our cul­ture and con­tribut­ing pos­i­tive­ly to the soci­ety we live in.

Our Core Val­ues (Uru Anyị Ji Aga)

• Ịdị n’O­tu (Uni­ty): We are strongest togeth­er.
• Nkwanye Ùgwù (Respect): We show respect for our elders, for one anoth­er, and for our hosts.
• Igu­zosi Ike n’Ok­wu (Integri­ty): We oper­ate with hon­esty and trans­paren­cy.
• Ome­nala (Tra­di­tion): We are the proud cus­to­di­ans of our rich cul­tur­al her­itage.

The strength of Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo lies in the tire­less effort and ded­i­ca­tion of its mem­bers, led by an elect­ed exec­u­tive team com­mit­ted to serv­ing the com­mu­ni­ty with integri­ty and pas­sion. Our lead­ers are vol­un­teers who ded­i­cate their time to uphold­ing our con­sti­tu­tion and achiev­ing our col­lec­tive vision.

The strength of Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo lies in the tire­less effort and ded­i­ca­tion of its mem­bers, led by an elect­ed exec­u­tive team com­mit­ted to serv­ing the com­mu­ni­ty with integri­ty and pas­sion. Our lead­ers are vol­un­teers who ded­i­cate their time to uphold­ing our con­sti­tu­tion and achiev­ing our col­lec­tive vision.

Meet the exec­u­tive com­mit­tee:

Cur­rent Exec­u­tives

• Evan­ge­list Bened­it CHUKWUEMEKA – Pres­i­dent
• Chief John­son CHUKWUMA – Vice Pres­i­dent 
• Nze Hen­ry Ejike IGUEGBE – Sec­re­tary 
• Chief David Agwu EJEM – Trea­sury 
• Chief Celes­tine NWANKWO – Finan­cial sec­re­tary 
• Prince Ichie Chuk­wu­ma M. EBOMUCHE- PRO
• Chief Basil NWABU – Wel­fare Offi­cer 
• Chief Obin­na CHUKWUEMEKA- Assis­tant sec­re­tary 
• Prince Charles NJOKU – Provost 
• Mazi Ugonna EKENYERE – Assis­tance Provost 
• Lady Stel­la EMMANUEL – Assis­tance Wel­fare 
• Mazi Elochuk­wu MUOMAH – Assis­tance Provost
• Chief Eme­ka EZEH – Patron
• Chief Sun­ny UDENZE – Patron

Past Exec­u­tive

• Chief Cham­ber­lain Eme­ka EZEH ‑Pres­i­dent
• Chief Sun­ny UDENZEH – Vice Pres­i­dent
• Elder Kel­ly NWANNERI – Sec­re­tary
• Prince Ichie Chu­ma EBOMUCHE – Vice Sec­re­tary 
• Chief Celes­tine NWANKWO – Fin Sec
• Lolo Chinyere EJEM – Trea­sur­er 
• Nze Hen­ry IGUEGBE – PRO
• Chief David EJEM – Provost
• Elder Chi­ma OHAZURUIKE – Elder of the asso­ci­a­tion (RIP)

Bata na Ezinụlọ Anyi– Become a Part of Our Fam­i­ly

Being a mem­ber of Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo Nantes means being part of a liv­ing, breath­ing com­mu­ni­ty that sup­ports, cel­e­brates, and uplifts you. It is your con­nec­tion to your roots and your gate­way to a net­work of broth­ers and sis­ters who under­stand you.

Whether you have just arrived in Pays de la Loire or have lived here for years, we invite you to join us and expe­ri­ence the strength and warmth of our com­mu­ni­ty.

Why Join Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo?

• A Sense of Belong­ing: Find your fam­i­ly in France. Con­nect with fel­low Ndig­bo who share your lan­guage, your cul­ture, and your expe­ri­ences.
• Cul­tur­al Immer­sion: Par­tic­i­pate in vibrant cul­tur­al fes­ti­vals, tra­di­tion­al cer­e­monies, and events that cel­e­brate our rich her­itage. It is the per­fect way to teach your chil­dren about their roots.
• Com­mu­ni­ty Sup­port: In the true spir­it of Obin­wanne, the com­mu­ni­ty ral­lies around its mem­bers. We pro­vide moral, and where pos­si­ble, mate­r­i­al sup­port dur­ing sig­nif­i­cant life events such as births (omug­wo), mar­riages (igbankwụ), and bereave­ment.
• Net­work­ing Oppor­tu­ni­ties: Con­nect with Igbo pro­fes­sion­als, entre­pre­neurs, and stu­dents from var­i­ous fields across the region. Build valu­able per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al rela­tion­ships.
• Lan­guage & Edu­ca­tion: Take part in our Igbo lan­guage class­es and cul­tur­al work­shops. Ensure that the beau­ti­ful tongue of our par­ents is not lost.
• A Voice for Ndig­bo: As a col­lec­tive, we rep­re­sent the inter­ests of the Igbo com­mu­ni­ty in the region, ensur­ing our voice is heard and our pres­ence is pos­i­tive and respect­ed.

Who Can Join?

Mem­ber­ship is open to:

1. Any per­son of Igbo descent resid­ing in Nantes or the Pays de la Loire region.
2. The spouse or part­ner of a per­son of Igbo descent.
3. Indi­vid­u­als with a ver­i­fi­able affil­i­a­tion or deep inter­est in Igbo cul­ture and val­ues, sub­ject to the approval of the exec­u­tive com­mit­tee.

How to Become a Mem­ber

Join­ing our fam­i­ly is a sim­ple three-step process:

1. Fill Out the Form: Com­plete our online mem­ber­ship appli­ca­tion form with your details.
2. Pay Mem­ber­ship Dues: Con­tribute your annu­al mem­ber­ship dues, which help fund our events, activ­i­ties, and sup­port ini­tia­tives. (Details on dues amount and pay­ment meth­ods will be pro­vid­ed upon form sub­mis­sion).
3. Get Induct­ed: Attend our next gen­er­al meet­ing to be for­mal­ly wel­comed into the Obin­wanne Ndi Igbo fam­i­ly!

Send an email to admin@obinwannendigbo.org to get start­ed.

We can­not wait to wel­come you. Nnọọ!

Biko Kpọtụrụ Anyị – We’d Love to Hear From You

Whether you have a ques­tion, a sug­ges­tion, need sup­port, or sim­ply want to learn more about our com­mu­ni­ty, please get in touch. Your feed­back and engage­ment are impor­tant to us.

Get in Touch Through Our Online Form

For gen­er­al inquiries, please fill out the form below, and a mem­ber of our team will get back to you as soon as pos­si­ble.

Oth­er Ways to Con­nect

Email:

• For Gen­er­al Inquiries: info@obinwannendigbo.org
• For Mem­ber­ship: membership@obinwannendigbo.org
• For the Pres­i­den­t’s Office: president@obinwannendigbo.org

Fill Our Online Form