A terminally-ill man from Kinross has fulfilled his dying wish to visit his parents in north Africa.
Mouldi Chalbi has been given just weeks to live after being diagnosed with stage-four cancer in March.
The 38-year-old Tunisian, who settled in Fife in 2017 before moving to Kinross with Scottish wife Lorraine, had felt fit and healthy until that point.
But he was given the devastating news after visiting his doctor complaining of back pain.
Desperate to get back to see his family in Tunisia, loved ones set up a fundraising page to allow him to make the journey.
Donations came flooding in – leaving niece Jenna Varndell stunned by the reaction.
She told The Courier: “The response was instant and almost overwhelming.
‘The generosity was humbling’
“You would expect family and friends to help but the generosity from people who didn’t even know Mouldi but had heard of his plight was humbling.
“It just continued to grow after news of Mouldi’s deteriorating condition reached others with the Tunisian community in Scotland.
“In just a few days the total had reached just short of £6,000, which is staggering.”
The money helped pay for a flight from Newcastle and he has been receiving palliative care in Tunisia.
Sister-in-law Moira Scobie said: “It was a race against time getting emergency visas and all the relevant paperwork and medical items that he will need to make him comfortable.
“But Mouldi and my sister made it and he’s managed to get to see his mother and members of his large family.
Hard to come to terms with diagnosis
“It’s been utterly heartbreaking to see the cancer spread so quickly but also humbling, not only to see Mouldi’s determination but also the support and love that people have shown.
“He’s such a hard-working and caring man who has made Scotland his home and loved his life here.
“It’s still hard to come to terms with the whole situation given that just two months ago, everything was normal.”
Mouldi met Lorraine, a healthcare worker, 11 years ago while she was on holiday in his home country.
The couple got married in Tunisia, living there for a year before coming back to Lorraine’s native Fife to live in Kelty.
A qualified chef, Mouldi has worked at various hotels and restaurants across Fife and Perth and Kinross.
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