August 2, 2019 – U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Tunisia organized a visit of Tunisian international basketball player Salah Mejri to the Douar Hicher indoor sports hall to meet and support a group of youth and associations active in sports from the regions of Douar Hicher, Sousse and Jendouba.
This visit was organized in cooperation with the Tunisian Government Presidency, under the initiative of National Basketball Association’s “NBA CARES,” with the support of the American Embassy in Tunisia under the “Ma3an” project, which aims to support youth and empower local communities. The visit aimed to create new opportunities for the youth of Jendouba, Douar Hesher, Sousse, and the youth of the “Ma’an” project. It gave them the chance to meet with Tunisian Sports Ambassador Salih Al-Majri, who expressed his desire to share the secret to his success and skills in basketball, and inspire the youth’s future and ambitions.
About the “Ma3an for Youth Support and Community Empowerment” project
The project is funded by USAID and implemented by the International Family Health Organization (FHI360) in partnership with the Tunisian government. It is present in 30 communities in 15 governorates, and involves more than 35 partners from international and national organizations and local associations.
The “Ma3an” project aims to empower Tunisian communities and enhance the capacity of youth, women and all local actors to provide local and national resources and cope with economic and social challenges. The project approach is based on the principle of local leadership to identify and resolve socio-economic vulnerabilities at the community level through three phases:
- Community mapping to capture youth perspectives on opportunities and challenges;
- Sharing this knowledge with relevant community stakeholders and developing concerted action plans at local cooperative planning workshops; and
- Helping youth and community actors to implement a range of local activities to address challenges through in-kind grants to civil society organizations and local institutions.
