Jordan

Jordan experiences high levels of poverty, unemployment, and dropouts, and lacks an adequate workforce to fill existing jobs. For generations, Jordan has been the host to massive displacement of people due to conflicts in the Middle East. As a result of the violence ravaging Iraq, current estimates indicate over 4.5 million Iraqis have fled their homes to neighboring countries or more secure areas in Iraq - with approximately 750,000 now living in Jordan. The recent influx of Iraqis has placed an enormous burden on the Jordanian society to provide them with services. These displaced people do not have legal status and are rarely able work or send their children to school.

One of the tragic realities of the situation is that half of all displaced people are children whose development has been interrupted. Only a small fraction of these children now attend school – with some having been removed from formal educational for two or three years and many unlikely to return. The implications of an uneducated generation of Iraqi children are disastrous for this fragile region.

Without income to support their families, the fact they are living in areas where the cost of living is high, and the uncertainty of their future, displaced Iraqis have or are quickly depleting their resources and feel hopeless. Most Iraqi children have not been able to go to school prior to now because their families could not afford to enroll them in private schools. Although Iraqi children are now eligible to attend public schools in Jordan, they need assistance to do so.

Through a new and innovative training program, JumpStart International is planning to implement a program that will offer displaced Iraqis and out-of-school at-risk youth practical experience and living allowances by placing them in service-learning positions supporting host communities to deliver critical services. JumpStart's program is designed to equip participants with relevant, transferable skills that will enable them to lead productive lives, continue their education, get jobs and/or build livelihoods as their displaced status is resolved. JumpStart’s program will provide structured daily activities for both out-of-school Iraqi and Jordanian youth.

Primary objectives of the program are to:
§ Provide structured service-learning activities for out-of-school youth;
§ Assist local organizations in community asset building and service delivery; and
§ Provide support to supplement household income.

To help JumpStart International provide the opportunity of a lifetime for these youth whose lives have been torn apart, please dontate now.