Al-Aman Fund Collaborates with World Bank in Support of Orphaned Youth in Jordan
Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans received a grant from the World Bank Youth Innovation Fund in support of “Woman-to-Woman Mentoring and Capacity Building” initially targeting orphaned young women in Jordan.
““Woman–to-Woman” aims at helping orphaned young women develop their professional and life skills. With the support of the project, these young women are introduced to well-paid job opportunities, and successful women as role models, while working in a secure environment,” said Dana Shuqom, World Bank Task Team Leader of the Project. “The project places female graduates of orphan care centers in paid internship programs within organizations managed or led by women professionals, where they are coached on life and employability skills,” she added.
Al-Aman Fund was selected on the basis of its experience in managing post-orphanage support programs for graduating youth. All interns targeted by the initiative are Al-Aman Fund beneficiaries. In addition to working with the project team to identify suitable internship opportunities, Al-Aman Fund also manages the relationship between business owners and its young interns. The Fund is responsible for the application and selection process, monitoring interns’ attendance and overall management of the project.
”Our partnership with the World Bank and participating businesses has opened up new horizons for these young girls to understand and acquire the broader set of skills they need to manage their lives and realize their ambitions,” said Maha Saqqa, Executive Director of Al-Aman Fund.
“The Woman-to-Woman Project is in line with the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for Jordan for the period 2006-2010,” said Susan Razzaz, World Bank Senior Economist based in Jordan. According to the strategy, World Bank Group assistance aims at supporting the Jordanian Government’s strategic objectives of poverty reduction and productive job creation. “What this project did is to match training opportunities with interns’ educational specializations as well as their interests, “she added.
A number of businesses have already offered interns full-time and part-time jobs which interns have accepted. Other businesses have promised future job opportunities to the interns upon completion of their education diplomas. Yaa Oppong, World Bank Social Development Specialist expressed the World Bank’s pleasure with the response of the private sector to this project, as the training opportunities exceed the actual number of available interns at the moment.
Feedback from participating interns was positive. Prospects of improving their income, gaining professional skills, and for many, receiving job offers meant a new start. “This has been a wonderful opportunity. I have been given the chance to apply what I learn in college to real work. And I don’t think I would have had the chance to work with such a top-notch organization if it weren’t for “Woman-to-Woman”. This internship will make a considerable addition to my CV and to my experience, “said one of the interns.
Based on its initial success, Al-Aman Fund extended the initiative to include orphaned male youth. The knowledge the beneficiaries will acquire during the course of the project will be transferred to other orphans through peer learning workshops and seminars. In addition, Al-Aman Fund has organized an out-of-office training workshop to complement the skills the interns are learning at work. “Sustainability of the initiative is an important drive for these young men and women to become productive members of society. Our partnership with Al-Aman Fund and members of the business community has demonstrated the criteria for success and scaling up the experience to benefit and empower disadvantaged youth,” said Ziad Badr, World Bank Representative in Jordan.
