International Director for the West, Central and North African countries at the SOS Children's Villages International Benoît Piot said he "was satisfied with the work of SOS Tunisia and the conditions of protection of children." He was speaking as he visits Tunisia on April 27 to 29, as part of an evaluation and monitoring mission. Piot met on Saturday with members of the new Steering Committee of the Tunisian Association of SOS Children's Villages (ATVESOS), which has been in place for a year. He pointed out that the committee showed a "committment to respecting the standards of good governance" required by the Association «despite the limits of voluntary work and the lack of financial resources." The work done has helped improve the image of the Tunisian Association at the international level following the setbacks and problems with the young people of SOS who were not well supervised and protected, he added. The standards of prevention, safeguarding and protection for abandoned or threatened children and young people remain top priorities in the work of SOS Children's Villages, he pointed out, stressing the imperative to respect the principle of admissibility in situations of child rights violations in all countries. Piot commended the efforts made to achieve the desired changes and reforms, and expressed the Association's full readiness to support the actions of SOS Tunisia in terms of supervision and reinforcement of the conditions of protection for children, as well as financially, through international sponsorship, worth pound 350,000 per year. The annual needs of ATVESOS in terms of financial resources are over 12 MD with a contribution from the State of about 20%, against 80% to be collected by the Association in the form of donations. Benoît Piot, during his visit, was accompanied by Representative of SOS International in the WCNA region at the Casablanca office Bushra Zaaboul, members of the Steering Committee, a team of the National Office and the children and young people of the villages as well as their mothers. He had met with the Minister for Family, Women, Children and the Elderly on Friday. The meeting focused on cooperation between SOS International and the Tunisian State in the care of abandoned children and the increase in the number of children in care, as well as the conditions of protection and safeguarding them. The 4 SOS children's villages in Tunisia (Gammarth, Siliana, Mahres and Akouda) currently provide care to 2,500 children and young people. The number of children at risk who could be taken care for by the villages is estimated at 31,000 children, according to reports from the country's official structures.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse