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News
The Noor Al
Hussein Foundation Celebrates 19 Years of Achievements in
Capacity building, Empowerment of Local Communities
The Noor Al
Hussein Foundation (NHF), celebrating its 19th
anniversary this week, continues to introduce to Jordan and the
region innovative, dynamic and sustainable development models
that aim at empowering local communities.
Since NHF’s establishment in 1985, the Foundation has set
milestones in the fields of integrated community development,
family health, economic and social empowerment of women, culture
and arts, and micro-finance. Since 1999, NHF has been
operating as an independent entity under the umbrella of the
King Hussein Foundation, which was established by His Majesty
King Abdullah II and chaired by Her Majesty Queen Noor,
to foster King Hussein’s aspirations for a better quality of
life for Jordanians.
Over 200 employees staff the Foundation, in addition to more
than 1,000 volunteers, of which 47 per cent are women, from
local communities who have been trained and empowered to run
their own development schemes in 25 rural communities.
Responding to the needs of local communities, NHF has
developed several of its programs to better serve its
beneficiaries, and focused on strengthening the capacity of
grassroots communities through the enhancement of productivity
programs and establishment of independent cooperatives equipped
to run sustainable income generation projects.
Over the last two years, the NHF has expanded services of
the Business Development Unit (BDU), which operates under the
Regional Training Center of the Quality of Life Project. The
Quality of Life Project, one of the Foundation’s major projects,
implements democratic socioeconomic development schemes at the
grassroots levels. The BDU provides business training, market
knowledge and networks, technical training and access to
financial institutions and credit programs.
“Providing loans is not enough to make an effective positive
change in the community. Therefore, the Foundation has been
providing training to entrepreneurs to ensure that their micro
and community enterprises are viable to start with, and
sustainable in the long term, based on solid financial and
market assessment,” said NHF Executive Director Hana
Mitri Shahin.
Since 2002, the Family Health Institute in Sweileh, expanded its
services to women through upgrading its capacity to serve as a
Women’s Health Counseling Center. The Center offers
comprehensive services ranging from medical specialties to
psychological, social and legal counseling, to health education
and gender awareness. Recently the Center began providing pre
marital tests, osteoporosis and early detection of breast
cancer.
In micro finance, the Jordan Micro Credit Company (JMCC) is
reaching thousands of entrepreneurs in Amman, Zarqa', and Irbid.
The company, established in 1999, has disbursed more than 11,809
loans with a loan portfolio that exceeds JD 9 million, out of
which 51 per cent of recipients are women. This highly
successful micro-financial program runs in parallel to the
Quality of Life credit program which operates in 22 remote rural
villages across Jordan. The program has disbursed over 2,087
loans (1071 to women), with a value of more than JD 1 million.
Women handicraft cooperatives, established in seven governorates
to help women transform themselves from aid recipients to share
holders in self-owned viable cooperatives, have been
strengthened further by restructuring their marketing operation.
Three showrooms in Iraq Al Amir, Wadi Mousa and Aqaba, will
display their products, in addition to having direct access to
other outlets.
In close cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, four
innovative income generation projects will be turned over to
well equipped and well trained cooperatives before the end of
this year, including a Soap Factory in Malka, a comprehensive
Productive Tourism Village in Libb that hosts four workshops
producing sweets, bakery, sewing and dairy products, a Dairy
Factory in Al Rabbeh/ Karak and Medicinal Herbs program in
Khalid Ibn Al-Walid District/ Irbid.
The Foundation seeks to replicate it development projects in
other villages in Jordan and the region. The Foundation is
already providing specialized training programs to local
communities in Iraq and Syria.
Noor Al Hussein Foundation Marks
Eighteen Years of Progressive Development
Amman (September 10, 2003) - The Noor Al Hussein Foundation (NHF),
established in 1985 as a national institution to compliment
public efforts in building and developing a new Jordan, has
evolved into a multi disciplinary and multi sectoral leading
development institution, impacting positively the lives of
nearly 850,000 Jordanians.
With direct supervision by Her Majesty Queen Noor, and 190
committed staff members, the NHF, in partnership with public and
private sectors and several international institutions and UN
agencies, continues to introduce innovative and dynamic
sustainable development programs and projects throughout Jordan,
assisting underserved and marginalized communities to attain a
better quality of life.
NHF, which has been operating as an
independent entity under the umbrella of King Hussein Foundation
since 1999, works effectively in Integrated Community
Development, Child and Family Health, Women and Enterprise
Development, Culture and Arts, and microfinance. In each of its
fields of work, NHF has introduced a model of development for
Jordan and the region.
In the area of integrated community development, the Quality of
Life (QOL) Project, set up in 1989, has successfully developed a
comprehensive total human development approach that is
culturally sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the
community. Four years after the WHO recognized the QOL as a
regional training Center, the pioneering methodology is being
promoted by the WHO as a model for Community Based Initiatives
at the global level.
Over 70,000 Jordanians, mainly residing in rural remote areas,
benefited from the QOL programs that promote democratic
community participation and self-reliance. An additional 1,834
beneficiaries, 60% are women, received loans to initiate their
micro and small enterprises.
The Jordan Design and Trade Center has been instrumental in the
revival of traditional handicrafts in Jordan and improving the
lives of over 1,200 women and around 5000 family members. Women
in remote underserved areas, were empowered to complement their
traditional role, enriching their lives and contributing
effectively to their families, communities and to a more
progressive Jordan. The women were provided with the means and
tools to become productive and effective members in their
communities through technical, product development and marketing
support from the Jordan Design Trade Center; in addition to
specific women’s and youth programs administered by the Quality
of Life Training Unit to equip them with skills to meet the
challenges of globalization.
Over the past five years, NHF has established pioneering women
cooperatives throughout Jordan. Eleven cooperatives were
initiated helping women transform themselves from aid recipients
to share holders in self-owned viable cooperatives. Currently,
the JDTC is implementing a new strategy to encourage designers
and artisans to provide new traditional designs for modern use
to be produced by NHF’s supported cooperatives.
Another contribution to women enterprises is the Aqaba Center,
with its shop in the renovated public beach of Aqaba next to the
citadel. Since its establishment in 1986, the Aqaba Center has
been the hub of several social, cultural and economic activities
that reaching over 50,000 community members. The Center hosts
Aqaba’s first children’s library, which is actively involved in
environment activities, an IT center and a business counseling
center, proving that private-public partnerships are required
for effective community development.
NHF has provided Jordan cultural and artistic models through the
establishment of the Performing Arts Center and the National
Music Conservatory. The Performing Arts Center, a unique
cultural institution on the national and regional level, employs
professional theater and dance to promote human rights,
democracy and a healthy life style for hundred of thousands of
children and women in Jordan and the region. The Performing Art
Center’s renowned Arab Children Congress, meeting annually for
the past two decades, contributes in building bridges of
cooperation among Arab youth.
Since the establishment of the National Music Conservatory in
1986, it has played an integral role in developing a dynamic
music movement in Jordan, promoting music appreciation and
setting standards of excellence in music teaching. Through the
years, the NMC has trained highly professional musicians, and
formed music ensembles and an orchestra that represents Jordan
regionally and internationally.
After setting up a model center for the detection of children’s
disabilities at an early stage in 1986, the Institute for Family
Health (IFH) is pioneering another program - a comprehensive
women health center to meet the medical, social and legal needs
of women and adolescent girls. The Institute has been providing
medical and developmental services to over 200,000 children and
their mothers paying minimal fees for high quality services.
The NHF has also succeeded in establishing another credit
program in 1999 - the Jordan Micro Credit Company (JMCC). The
JMCC has disbursed more than 7,500 loans serving over 3,700
entrepreneurs with a loan portfolio that exceeds JD6.5 million.
It has maintained an outstanding collection rate that exceeds
98% and financial sustainability averaging 110%.
As part of Noor Al Hussein Foundation’s celebration of its 18th
anniversary, it is launching its new website:
www.nooralhusseinfoundation.org
NHF
Main Page
Contact
Information:
Noor
Al Hussein Foundation
P.O. Box 926687
Amman 11110 - Jordan
Tel: (962-6) 560 7460
Fax: (962-6) 560 6994
Email: nhf@nic.net.jo
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