The Mayor of Amman, Engineer Omar Maani, recently inaugurated, at Amman National Park, the sixth summer camp, “In Jordan We Grow,” which is organized annually by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).
During an inspection tour of the camp’s facilities, which was attended by the Manager of Amman City, Eng. Ammar Gharaibeh, Eng. Maani asserted that child-care, organizing educational and recreational activities for children, and establishing the infrastructure that meets their needs, are of vital importance to GAM. He also reaffirmed GAM’s dedication to achieving the objectives of the Amman Child-Friendly City project.
Within this context, Eng. Maani met with the children participating in the camp, and expressed GAM’s willingness to evaluate the camp upon its conclusion, and to meet the necessary requirements to bolster its sustainability and development, thus increasing interaction and the exchange of experience between Jordanian and Arab children.
The Mayor explained that the “In Jordan We Grow” summer camp experience has Arab and international children’s participation.
Executive Director of Social Affairs, Taghreed Fakhouri, stated, “All camp personnel, whether supervisors, camp committee members, or guards, have been trained to handle these age groups, as they have participated in courses on how adults can deal with children, and first-aid courses.”
She also pointed out that the camp aims at introducing the new generation of children to their positive traditions and habits, and that the camp constitutes a step towards establishing first-rate and high-value programs that help develop children’s personalities.
According to the camp Director, Hussam Fakhouri, the “In Jordan We Grow” camp is comprised of four levels (camps), each lasting a week, starting from June 27 until July 23, with 100 children participation in each camp.
He added that the camp accepts children ranging in age from 9-13 years old, representing the Kingdom’s various regions, in addition to children representing Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Sudan, and the United States of America.
This year’s camp included a number of programs and activities, namely, introducing the participants to GAM’s duties and its facilities, like the Traffic Garden, organizing visits to the Children’s Museum and Automobile Museum, in addition to explaining the responsibilities of the Civil Defense Department, organizing field trips to various ruins, and volunteer work, such as planting trees and environmental campaigns.
