UNICEF and Dar Abu Abdallah (DAA) Monday launched the Women’s Capacity Building and Productive Center in Mafraq to help youth and women weather the COVID-19 pandemic fallout and promote refugee–host community social cohesion.
The nascent center, located in the Za’atari district, will create job opportunities for more than 70 Jordanians and Syrian refugees and offer them capacity-building courses in new and transferable skills, including financial literacy and leadership courses.
A workshop at the women’s center will establish a viable production line, with a wide range of products, including 150,000 non-medical masks to support the national COVID-19 prevention response and a variety of other garments.
The production line will be accompanied with marketing campaigns designed to promote and market the products of the workshop.
“Only 15 percent of women participate in the labor force in Jordan, compared to 67 percent of men, and COVID-19 is further widening the gender gap in labor force participation.” said Tanya Chapuisat, Representative, UNICEF Jordan.
“This partnership aims to create a demand-driven economic engagement opportunities that would empower women and youth contributing to their financial inclusion and build a better post-COVID-19 world.”
DAA Director-General Samer Balkar said: “Our mission is to empower the most vulnerable communities through programmes that sustain their livelihoods and improve the well-being of their families, leading to breaking out of the cycle of poverty.
“Through our partnership with UNICEF during the previous years, we provided the most vulnerable families with training and access to short-term employment opportunities. Today, this centre will contribute to providing those families with a stable source of income and sustainable job opportunities.”
UNICEF and DAA’s partnership is aimed at facilitating access to self-employment opportunities and boosting food security for most vulnerable households, through the establishment of 50 green rooftops whose products could be sold in the market; thus, allowing families to generate income.
Furthermore, it improves the sustainability of CBO’s by establishing small-sized projects and helping vulnerable adolescents and youth in their smooth transition into active and productive adult life through the leadership programmes.
This partnership is part of the Amaluna UNICEF programme that has been supporting 3,500 vulnerable youth across Jordan with market-driven and accredited skills for meaningful employment opportunities. The programme has achieved a 70 percent employment rate and supported the establishment of 274 women and youth-led social enterprises.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY