Liberia: VP Howard-Taylor Tours Drug Addiction Rehab Center
Ahmed Wazni, the President of the World Lebanese Culture Union in Liberia, who also accompanied the Vice President on the tour of the facilities.
— Expresses commitment to help address the malaise of drug addiction in Liberia
Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor had toured the rehabilitation facilities of the "Oum el Nour" Liberia Inc. in Monrovia and on the Buchanan highway, respectively.
“Oum el Nour Liberia Inc., with translation in English, “Mother of Light” is a program that seeks to prevent and rehabilitate substance abusers and help them overcome drug addiction, a Press Release from the office of the Vice President revealed.
The tour of the facilities is a follow-up to the commitment made by the Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy and Founder of a Non-Governmental Organization, “Oum el Nour” Liberia Inc., Bishop Guy Paul Noujaim when he paid a courtesy visit with the Vice President last year at her capitol building office.
On the Buchanan Highway, where the rehab project is based, the Vice President was highly impressed by the level of transformation geared towards kick-starting the program.
The Organization has renovated over eight damaged housing facilities of the Former German Camp to accommodate and enhance the rehabilitation of substance abusers who benefit from the program.
Local staff of the Organization led by Mr. Ahmed Wazni, the President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU) in Liberia, accompanied the Vice President on the tour of the facilities both in Monrovia and Buchanan highway.
The Liberian Vice President hailed the WLCU for initiating such a program in Liberia, adding: “Drug addiction is a pervasive national problem that needs a stronger program of this kind.”
While expressing her absolute commitment to working with the charity organization in helping to address the malaise of drug addiction in Liberia, the Vice President believes the expansion of such a program to other regions in the country would be highly welcomed, promising that she will be engaging stakeholders and officials to prioritize this project. While on tour, the President of the WLCU Liberia provided an overview of the program, which he noted is being implemented in three phases- Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Integration.
It can be recalled that last year, Wazni expressed his gratitude to the Government for the cooperation given to the program so far, referencing the provision of a 30-acre plot of land for the erection of the project edifice in Liberia.
He furthered that Oum el Nour, established through direct sponsorship of the Lebanese community in Liberia, remains committed to rehabilitating substance abusers, lamenting that drug abuse is pervasive in the country's youth population.