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Rebuilding a Future

Sfax, October 29 - “Everyone deserves a second chance for a better life”; this was the message conveyed by Ambassador Godec to residents of the Sfax Assistance and Counseling Center, most of whom are drug addicts, come from underprivileged areas, and usually are unemployed.

The Center, built and equipped thanks to a grant provided by U.S. Military Humanitarian Cooperation, provides shelter, medical and psychological care to approximately 20 patients from all over Tunisia and exceptionally from neighboring countries. It is staffed by a qualified medical personnel and social workers, and run by a group of volunteers from the ATUPRET association, including medical doctors, psychologists and communicators. The Center offers individual rooms to all residents equipped with lavatories, a large TV room, a psychological counseling office and a medical examination room. It is surrounded by a large park close to a  beach.

Residents are generally assigned to the Center by medical and social counselors acting in their communities, and sometimes even by law enforcement authorities. They are offered shelter and assistance for up to three months, during which they have to comply with a well defined daily schedule set by the staff to help them overcome their addiction.

After touring the center’s facilities, Ambassador Godec talked individually to all residents, then shared lunch with them for a general and open discussion. Pr. Abdelmajid Zahaf, the Project’s initiator and chair of the ATUPRET Association thanked the U.S. Government for its support and confirmed his commitment to further work on providing better opportunities for Tunisian youth affected by drugs and alcohol addiction. This commitment was further reinforced by the Regional Social Affairs Director who promised to provide the center with professional training opportunities and literacy equipment to help residents acquire working skills and hence be better prepared to reintegrate the labor market, once recovered.

At the end of the ceremony, Ambassador Godec and Professor Zahaf exchanged partnership and friendship commemorating plaques, marking their commitment to further enhance cooperation between the U.S. Embassy and Tunisian Civil Society.