Under the directives of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, JRF piloted a new initiative in 2007, which looks at communities in a holistic manner, including education, health, infrastructure, youth and economic empowerment. JRF signed an agreement with Orange Jordan and the Orange Foundation on February 7, 2008, to partner on developing this marginalized community. Although this area is not classified as a poverty pocket, it is in dire need of development by creating and supporting sustainable social, economic and cultural programs derived from local needs and priorities, in partnership with different stake-holders.
The project commenced by identifying needs and priorities and by establishing a local co-operative in the community. This co-operative, which has 182 members of whom 123 are female, is to become the umbrella unit and the steering arm of the Project’s activities. The Project’s achievements to date include:
- Participatory Strategic Planning Workshop. 32 community members participated in these sessions, 22 of whom are female.
- Capacity Building and Raising Awareness. These sessions were conducted for the beneficiary co-operatives and local community members, and 201 people participated, of whom 143 were female.
- Providing a Revolving Loan Portfolio to the Rasoun co-operative. The number of beneficiaries was 72, of whom 42 were female
- Implementing Two Income Generating Projects.
These projects are now operational and are run by the co-operative. A total of four jobs were created for members of the local community. These projects are:
- A semi-automated bakery
- A bus to transport residents and students from Rasoun to Ajlun and Irbid.
Implementing Three Infrastructure and Basic Services support as follows:
- Renovation of the Rasoun Comprehensive Secondary School for girls
- Establishing a nursery in the school
- Equipping the village’s health center with an ultra-sound system
Empowering youth through the following:
- Capacity Building through the provision of two youth training sessions, which were attended by 51 youth, 18 of whom were female.
- Encouraging volunteering by engaging young people in five voluntary initiatives led by the youth themselves. 240 young people volunteered, of whom 30 were female.
- Enhancing Civic Engagement by establishing a folklore group of 20 young people,and a football team of 30 youth.
- Supporting Youth-friendly Services by establishing a youth center and a playing field. These projects are ongoing and are supported by the cooperation of the Higher Council for Youth and the MoPIC.