Aqaba CMP Schools Welcome USAID Mission Director

Aqaba, Jordan – August 16, 2009 – By: Tamara Hreish, IRD PR Specialist

The Community Mobilization for Partnership in Schools (CMP) Program, funded by USAID and implemented by IRD, successfully hosted a visit by the USAID Mission Director, Mr. Jay Knott, along with other USAID representatives, to two schools in the Aqaba area of Southern Jordan. Mr. Jay Knott was received by Dr. Jameel Shekierat, Ministry of Education head of the Aqaba governorate where they visited the Al Disi Secondary Comprehensive Girls School and the Abdullah Bin Qais Basic Boys School. A tour was taken of both schools and distinguished guests met with the members of the Community-Parent-School Coalitions (CPSC) to discuss current relevant issues while showcasing summer initiatives for school and community improvement implemented by the CPSC’s.

The CMP Program develops dynamic, sustainable community-school partnerships that serve as sustainable mechanisms for the institutionalization of participatory approaches to educational reform and create a sense of ownership and responsibility among all stakeholders within the public school system. This project complements the ongoing USAID Jordan School Construction (JSP) project which provides needed rehabilitation to 100 existing public schools and is constructing 28 new schools.

Under CMP, the main goal is to unite the members of the community, students, local private sector, Community Based Organizations, and parents to empower them to work together to benefit the school and the community at large. As a result, CPSC’s were formed, which have greatly aided school improvement efforts and are strengthening the community/school support connections that facilitate life-long learning opportunities and extra-curricular programs within schools. Mr. Kamel Al Khasawnah, principal of the Abdullah Bin Qais Basic Boys School reflected on the improvements that CMP has brought to his school. “CMP has given the parents and the community an opportunity to work together for the benefit of our children. This year’s summer activities were better organized, offered a variety of activities and therefore was more beneficial to the students…all because the parents and community worked together.”

At Al Disi Secondary Comprehensive Girls School, Principal Ms. Suad Awad stated that “the visit by Mr. Jay Knott to our school will strengthen the confidence our parents and community members have in CMP Program.”

“A major goal is to encourage and support CMP Schools to become models for other schools within the neighborhood” said Ms. Samah Goussous, Project Manager for the CMP Program. “We want schools to strive to increase the role of the CPSC within the school and ultimately the community to provide strategic guidance and direction in an accountable and sustainable manner.”

In addition to working in close cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Education (MOE), CMP has formed dynamic partnerships and linkages with groups on the cutting edge of community mobilization and educational advancement in Jordan. CMP partner, The Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education (QREEA), has received considerable national attention for its Teachers’ Award, and has developed, in collaboration with IRD, criteria for community participation in its new Principals’ Award.

Welcome to the Circus!

One of my staff members, Tamara, used to work at the Children’s Museum here in Amman. While she was there she connected with an American Circus Group: The Zany Umbrella Circus, and got them to work with the museum each summer. This summer they returned and now that she works for us she got them to do a circus performance for the Iraqi Refugees living in Amman through our UNHCR funded Outreach program.

About 200 kids showed up with their families to watch the circus. It was quite a rowdy crowd! Numerous times throughout the show we had to gently usher the kids back as the stage area was getting smaller and smaller by the mass of kids wanting to get closer to the action! The circus performers were quite impressive and definitely a first for the majority of the audience.

Here are some pictures from the event:

World Refugee Day

June 20, 2009 was World Refugee Day to mark the plight of the 42 million people around the world that have been uprooted from their homes and are struggling to survive. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports of 42 million displaced includes 16 million refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million internally displaced people uprooted within their own countries.

Of the global total of uprooted people, UNHCR cares for 25 million, including a record 14.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 10.5 million refugees. The other 4.7 million refugees are Palestinians under the UN Relief and Works Agency.

From the UNHCR 2009 annual report:

Developing countries hosted 80 percent of all refugees: Major refugee-hosting countries in 2008 included Pakistan (1.8 million); Syria (1.1 million); Iran (980,000); Germany (582,700), Jordan (500,400); Chad (330,500); Tanzania (321,900); and Kenya (320,600). Major countries of origin included Afghanistan (2.8 million) and Iraq (1.9 million), which together account for 45 percent of all refugees under UNHCR's responsibility. Other countries of origin included Somalia (561,000); Sudan (419,000); Colombia, including people in refugee-like situations (374,000), and D.R. Congo (368,000).

Here in Jordan, there is still a serious issue in regards to Iraqi Refugees although the numbers have definitely been reduced. At the peak of the crisis there were upwards of 1 million Iraqi refugees seeking safe haven in Jordan but now the numbers are closer to 150,000 Iraqi refugees residing in Jordan. While the Government of Jordan has loosened restrictions on the Iraqis, they are still considered guests not refugees, and they are still not legally allowed to work which results in the majority of the Iraqis falling well below the poverty line.

IRD is one of the main implementing partners of UNHCR in addressing the needs of the Iraqi refugees in Jordan. The IRD Outreach Services for Iraqi Refugees (OSIR) Program is the largest outreach program providing refugee protection assessments and assistance and tracking refugee assistance coverage throughout Jordan.

In commemoration of World Refugee Day, the IRD OSIR team held a large event for over 400 of our Iraqi beneficiaries. The event included Iraqi folklore music, clowns and jugglers, a magic show by an Iraqi magician, and an interactive play of a traditional Iraqi story. The event was a huge success!

Update and Pictures from Past Couple of Months

I’ve not been doing a good job of keeping up my blog!   It’s been a busy couple of months here in Jordan, filled with both work and fun.

On the work side, our IRD Jordan programs are going strong.  The two US Department of State funded programs in health and livelihoods will finish at the end of August but we have 2 proposals in to continue and expand those activities for another year.  Hopefully we’ll hear good news from the donors soon on those! 

The education program, CMP, continues to move ahead quickly.  The CMP team has now worked with 20 school communities and with the each of the Community – Parent – School Committees (CPSCs) they are planning for the summer extracurricular activities which will include summer camps for the children and adult education courses for the parents and community members.  Here are a few pictures from a recent CPSC meeting in a small school on the outskirts of Amman.

A lot of work, but we’ve managed to get in a lot of fun as well.  We are really trying to explore all of Jordan with our friends Eric and Ledina who are also part of the Peace Corps community! 

At the heart of spring here in Jordan (end of April, early May) we spent a day at the ruins of Umm Qais, which was one of the ten cities of the Roman Decapolis.  The ruins lie in northeastern Jordan on the border of Syria, Palestine, Israel and the disputed Golan Heights, with a beautiful view overlooking Lake Tiberias (The Sea of Galilee). Supposedly this area was occupied as early as 7th century BC and came under Roman rule around 218 BC.  

In our on-going quest to hike each of the Wadi’s along the Dead Sea, Paul and I picked another one and started trekking.  It’s amazing how different each canyon is as they are all in similar desert terrain along the rift on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea.  The one we chose for this hike was one of the rare water filled wadi’s – Wadi Zarqa Ma’in (lower canyon) which carries a thermal stream with numerous cascades that originate at Ma’in Hot Springs.  We parked the car on the side of the road at the Dead Sea, passed the Arabic sign most likely stating “Do Not Enter” (but we can’t read Arabic so meant nothing to us!) and started scrambling over rocks into the canyon.  Picnics of PB&J sandwiches in this environment are absolutely amazing!

For more pictures from these adventures click here!

Northern Iraq

In early April I returned to northern Iraq to spend time with the Iraq Mental Health (IMHI) Program that IRD implements throughout Kurdistan and in some parts of Southern Iraq.  This was a very special trip as my colleague and friend, Lali Chania, met me there to also be a part of the monitoring and overall health assessment. 

The program is moving along very well.  The IMHI team have so far held a number of very important workshops for clerics, health professionals, the media, government representatives, and civil society activists hosting groundbreaking discussions on the importance of mental health awareness in the communities and the roles each of those professional sectors play in building that awareness and reducing the stigma associated with mental health.  They are implementing a nationwide mental health awareness campaign and have developed TV, radio and newspaper spots that are advertised throughout Iraq.  And they have trained general practitioners and other health service providers, psychologists and social workers in best practices for delivering quality psychosocial care for the general population with a focus on children and trauma victims.

During this trip we visited a camp that is home to many displaced families that have fled the violence in Mosul.  Unlike the refugees in Jordan, who are relatively integrated into the communities, the displaced populations within Iraq are living in the standard UNHCR tent camps and have very little services available to them.   Lali and I held a focus group discussion with women from the camp to discuss their health needs, which were many as you can imagine.

In addition to meeting with local partners, ministry representatives and local health organizations, we had the opportunity to spend some very nice time with the IMHI staff and their families, dancing to Kurdish music, listening to Dr. Rawisht play the Kurdish Lute, and then the finale being wowed by Lali playing “itsy bitsy spider” on the lute. 

For more pictures from Northern Iraq visit: my photo site!

Eastern Desert Castles and Azraq Wetlands

In the eastern part of Jordan, as you head towards Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the land becomes more arid and desert-like and there are numerous historic ruins including castles, forts, baths and fortified outputs which are collectively called the Eastern Desert Castles.  The majority of these “castles” were built during the early days of Islam (7^th and 8^th century AD) by Damascus based Umayyad caliphs (leaders).

Qasr al-Harraneh is believed to be a defensive fort, a rest stop for passing camel trains (I like this one), or a meeting area for local Umayyad rulers and Bedouin.  It is one of the earliest forts of the Islamic era built in 710 AD.  

Qusayr Amra was a bathhouse associated with a caravan stop and hunting lodge built in 711 AD.  The inside of the bathhouse has some very well preserved paintings including topless women and fanciful animals (i.e. a bear playing a banjo).  What is interesting about these frescoes is that early Islam prohibited the paintings of any living beings.  Of course, this was a bath house for males, those who set the rules for all others, of course they didn’t have to follow them.

Qasr al-Azraq was a fort built over many years starting with the Romans in 300 AD and rebuilt in 1237 AD by the Damascus based Ayyubids and then occupied by the Ottoman Turks in the 16^th century.  Interestingly, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) lived here in the early 1900’s during the Arab revolt against the Turks.  

The town of Azraq was once a very lush oasis that was a main stop on the way to Mecca.  Until about 40 years ago there was a 12,700 sq km wetlands that was home to elephants, lions, cheetahs and hippos.  Now it is an ecological disaster!  Jordan started pumping water from the wetlands to Amman (110km away) and all that remains now is 12 sq km of brackish and delicate wetland home to about 300 birds and a few water buffalo. 

Diving in the Red Sea

During March and April, Paul and I got our certifications as Advanced Open Water Scuba Divers and Underwater Naturalists.  Over two weekends we did 6 dives towards our certifications:  A deep dive to 90 feet, a wreck dive on a sunken Lebanese cruiser, an underwater navigation dive, a search and recovery dive, and two underwater naturalist dives. 

We did our diving in Aqaba, a city in southern Jordan, which is the only area of Jordan that borders the Red Sea.  It is a very small stretch of coastline, about 20 miles, sharing borders with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  It’s a beautiful area, save for the port and huge cargo ships that are anchored in the gulf, but the diving is not bad and hey, it’s only a 3.5 hour drive from Amman!

The water is quite cold this time of year.  I was wearing a 5mm wetsuit and Paul was wearing a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm shorty over it and a hood!  The visibility isn’t bad but unfortunately overfishing and pollution has really taken a toll on the fish and corals.