Hammam Lif project 2023

We, Missionaries Sisters of the Immaculate have been in Hammam Lif, a town of 40,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Tunis, about 20 km south of the capital, for just over four years.
The living conditions of the people, apart from some wealthy families, are very discreet and many live day by day with small occasional jobs. There are many who are without work, mainly young people who, because of this, dream of Europe and take the sea route to Italy.
On our journey of integration into this reality, we visit the families and the elderly of the neighborhoods around us and try to push ourselves more and more into the suburbs, with a very specific purpose: to get to know the situations and needs of the poorest and try to respond to the concrete needs of the population.
Two of us are also involved in the activities of the diocesan Caritas, the only social organization of the Church legally recognized by the state of Tunisia.

Description

Issues identified

The families who took refuge in the old Castle were all invited to leave the outdated structure in exchange for a meager “good exit” in cash and some settled in suburban neighborhoods, others returned to their areas of origin in the south or elsewhere. We have kept in touch with some of some families who have somehow settled here around Hammam Lif.

During the visits to families in these and other suburban areas, parents have asked us to do something for their children. In fact, we found children and young people who do not go to school and risk staying on the streets due to lack of economic means, and others who are unable to progress in their studies and who eventually drop out of school.

Furthermore, some of the families do not have the necessary means to support the medical expenses of specialized treatments.

Strategy of Intervention

As a first step in responding to this need, we have decided to welcome children from poor families into our home once a week to help them in their schooling. Learning French, the country’s second language (the official language is Arabic), is essential in order to access higher education courses, but poor families do not have the means to pay for their children’s lessons.
Therefore, we organized an entertainment service for boys and girls to learn the French language helped by some excellent teachers who volunteered. We currently have 16 students who benefit from French language lessons once a week. Pupils learn the language through various activities such as games, small competitions, and simple theatrical performances, some cultural outings, etc., which also aim to offer a more comprehensive education.
With the start of the New Year, we plan to offer also an initiation into computer science for which we will purchase two computers and the necessary accessories.
We also continue our support service for families in economic difficulty, above all by taking care of the medical expenses for specialist treatments deemed necessary and a contribution for young people for their studies. We do this after having personally visited the families concerned and having verified (as far as possible…) the concrete need for help.
We thank in advance the generosity of so many people who support us in our missionary service and in our activities of human and social promotion.

Finantial budget