Habitat for Humanity Area Office Visits Jordan to Learn about HFH Jordan’s Projects and Their Role in Supporting Vulnerable Communities
Habitat for Humanity Jordan (HFH Jordan) was honored to host the area office (AO) staff who arrived Jordan on September 15. The delegation came to Jordan to learn more about HfH Jordan’s running programs, and witness the communal, social, and economic contexts in Jordan; a context that merges different varieties of host communities and refugees from different nationalities (mostly Syrians) in one pot, trying to observe the impact of HfH Jordan activities on these social groups.
HfH Jordan was pleased to arrange for such a visit as it is an opportunity to let others know more
about the programs Habitat Jordan implements, in addition to learn about the opportunities and challenges that Habitat Jordan faces during the implementation of these projects. At the beginning, the team found that it is better to start their introductory visit by conducting an open discussion meeting, where all Habitat Jordan’s staff members were attending and sitting side by side with the AO staff to talk
openly about the Jordanian political and economic context and review the most critical challenges faced by marginalized communities, mainly refugees. They also discussed possible current and future solutions to leverage the type of services provided and overcome any obstacles that might stop the flow of work, such as what had happened during the breakout of Covid-19 and its implications.
During the meeting, the attendees talked in detail about one of the most important and recent projects HfH Jordan implements, which is the “Middle East Refugees Crisis Initiative” (MERCI) project. The team clarified that this shelter project has two pillars: a household (HH) pillar which aims to provide rehabilitation services for substandard homes that are below the living standards (for both Jordanian and Syrian
refugee families), and a communal pillar, which aims to provide rehabilitation and maintenance services to public schools, CBOs, and other care centers that offer communal services to vulnerable people,
such as elderlies, people with disabilities, women, and orphans, clarifying that targeting such
communities aims at reducing tension between local communities and refugees, especially after the growing pressure on public services and facilities. They also talked about the “Revolving Fund Project” which aims at providing financial access to loans for low-income families who meet certain criteria to complete building their homes with the support and supervision of local CBOs.
On the same day, the AO staff headed to Ajloun governorate to meet with one of the CBOs which Habitat Jordan works with.; they learn about their activities in general and their work with Habitat Jordan in particular. After that, the AO team visited several families who had benefited from the Revolving Fund project, being hosted at their homes, listening to them, and taking photos with them.
On the next day, the team headed to Marka district: a district that is located in the Eastern part of Amman where many vulnerable poor families from the local community and refugees live. The field visit started by visiting certain beneficiaries who had their homes rehabilitated. Two families were visited in the early morning, and their cases were discussed in detail by one of the social workers who had conducted the socio-economic assessment to them at the beginning of the work. After that, a school and a CBO that serves children with disabilities as well as refugee children and orphans were visited, as these two places had received rehabilitation services in order to serve as many Jordanian and refugee student beneficiaries as possible.
At the end of the visit, HfH Jordan team was pleased to invite the AO staff for lunch, as a part of the Jordanian culture which emphasizes the generosity of hospitality to
guests. At the end of the day, the AO staff expressed their sincere gratitude to the hard work conducted by Habitat Jordan’s team and the great achievements despite the disruption of difficult circumstances COVID 19 pandemic had on workflow.
