SOS Children in Jordan
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is in the Middle East, bordered by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria and Iraq. Mostly desert, it has a population of 4.5 million The Jordanian economy is primarily agricultural, with the emphasis on cereal crops, but many basic foodstuffs have to be imported. Its fundamental economic problems are poverty and unemployment, the result of slow economic growth.
The charity began its work in Jordan in 1986 when the first community opened in the capital, Amman. The village has twelve family houses and a nursery school which is also open to children from the neighbourhood. Two youth houses were set up in 1993 for the older children on the verge of independence. A small farm produces food for the village and the surplus is sold locally.
A second community was opened by the charity in 1992 in southern Jordan in the harbour town of Aqaba, in a residential area with a good infrastructure including schools and hospitals. The village has twelve family houses and a nursery school, which supports 100 children, and is used by children from the surrounding area. Aqaba also has a small farm which supplies the village with basic foodstuffs.
Irbid is in northern Jordan, the country's third largest city and the gateway to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The third community was opened in a residential area on the edge of the city, with good nursery schools and schools nearby. It has twelve family houses and a youth house for teenage girls, which together are home to over 120 children and young people.
In 2003, SOS Children established an emergency relief programme in Ruwayshid in western Jordan providing food, medicine and temporary accommodation for refugees from the war in neighbouring Iraq.
Local contacts
SOS Children's Villages Association of Jordan
Abel Hamid Sharaf Street
Rawda Building /Shmeisani
Postal address: P.O. Box 92 64 05
11110 Amman / Jordan
Tel +962/6 566 5724
Fax +962/6 568 8372
e-mail sosjor@nets.com.jo
www.sosjor.org
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