Over 150,000 beneficiaries reached by ARDD in 2021

AMMAN — In support of the efforts exerted by the Jordanian National NGOs Forum (JONAF) to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) has reached over150,000  beneficiaries from refugee and host communities around the Kingdom. 

The project was supported by donors and was carried out in coordination with the government, the Jordan Paramedic Society and over 20 JONAF member associations, according to an ARDD statement.

It consisted of 11 initiatives aimed at supporting communities to recover from the impact of COVID-19. 

The Strengthening Capacities of Women-led Civil Society Organisations on Evidence-Based Advocacy & the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, was implemented in partnership with UN Women under the JONAP framework with the support of the governments of Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

ARDD continues to shed light on the importance of women’s social and political participation through Al Nahda Women Network.

Within the "For Us By Us” project, carried out in partnership with Heinrich-Böll Stiftung Palestine and Jordan Office, 27 network members took part in training sessions on economic and political participation and in field visits to women-led projects and organisations.

As part of the “Empowering Each Other” project, carried out in partnership with UN Women with the support of the Australian government, ARDD worked with 40 women based in Azraq and Zaatari camps to develop their capacities in civic participation. 

They were supported to target 300 women to spread the word about voluntary work. 

ARDD supported women to establish the Women’s Community Network, which has 20 members from Azraq and Zaatari camps.

Legal awareness and civic participation were promoted among 180 young women and men who participated in first aid and gender-sensitive response training. They contributed to launching over 11 initiatives within Al Nahda Youth’s Harat Al Ouneh (Supportive Neighbourhoods) initiative, which aims to support individuals most affected by the pandemic. 

ARDD’s "Design and Determine" project, funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP II) to support Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, is now in phase II supported by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland, and Switzerland.

The project aims at empowering youth and improving their chances to be hired by training 30 female and male participants in professional skills. It provided 20 paid internships, offered scholarships to study at Luminus and Theodor-Schneller-Schule in addition to providing incubation to 15 entrepreneurial projects.

To contribute to empowering, protecting, and promoting the rights of immigrant workers, ARDD supported 30 female and male workers through workshops on civil participation and legal awareness, and through the establishment of the Migrant Workers Committee as part of ARDD's regional platform MARFA, whose goal is to pool the efforts of immigrant workers of all nationalities and enhance coordination among them. The committee launched four social initiatives within this framework.

As UNHCR legal partner, ARDD provided free legal consultations, and mediation, and representation in courts to over 136,500 beneficiaries of both genders from around the Kingdom, including to refugee camp residents. 

The organisation provided workshops raising legal awareness to over 3,600 beneficiaries of both genders and of all ages, and carries out various projects in partnership with UNHCR, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration SEM and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

To help protect children, through documenting marriages and births, since 2017, ARDD has helped issue 5,200 birth certificates by providing legal and financial assistance. 

Since 2019, 165 Syrian refugees of both genders have been helped to pay a JD1,000 fine each to document marriage for the purpose of proving parentage.

In collaboration with OCHA, ARDD provided JD200 per family as children’s cash assistance for 428 families. 

In partnership with Islamic Relief France and The Fund for Global Human Rights, ARDD provided 450 families with food coupons worth JD50 as part of the winter aid program. 

At the same time, JD400 worth of emergency medical aid was provided to 10 beneficiaries, and financial support was given to top high school students to help them start their university education. 

Five local organisations in Palestinian refugee camps partnered with ARDD to distribute JD80 cash assistance to 100 families.