Today we celebrate those who are working in the field with beneficiaries who have overcome crises. This year’s theme focuses on the passionate and hard-working women who have dedicated their careers to working in the humanitarian sector.
“The role of a woman in society is priceless and her presence is not only necessary inside the household, but it is much more than that,” said Sajeda Saqallah, who has been the Food Security and Livelihoods Programme Manager in Irbid for Action Against Hunger Jordan Mission for three years. She manages the department’s projects where they support Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians living in Jerash and Irbid by offering job opportunities and connecting people to vocational trainings.
As a woman in the humanitarian field, she always strives to include women in all aspects of her work with Action Against Hunger. She has done this with the solid waste management project, where she often works alongside the rest of her colleagues, men and women alike, on cleaning and recycling campaigns. “It is amazing that this day in particular focuses on women’s empowerment,” said Sajeda with a smile on her face. “All of the livelihood projects that we are implementing at Action Against Hunger on all of its bases and not only in Irbid are focusing on implementing and empowering the role of women in the field.”
Being part of the humanitarian sector has opened her eyes to a whole new perspective. “It made me see life through a different lens and view the lives of those affected by crises in a different way.” Throughout the years, she has come to see her role as not only a job, but also as charitable work helping others meet their basic needs by earning a living. “At the end of the day, when someone calls you or comes to thank you or when you get an invite from the women and they call you to say thank you for your work, it gives you a wonderful feeling.” Alongside this, she also grew as a person and, “became more accepting of others.”
Moreover, Sajeda began to see the positive impact her work was having on the community in Irbid which has become more accepting and started to see women working as being less “shameful,” especially women recycling and cleaning up garbage. “To them it was shameful and they would say, ‘What would the world say or my family would say if they saw me?’” she said. “They are now collecting this garbage and the plastic, metals, and any recyclable garbage, and they are selling it to scrap dealers and in return they are getting money which they can benefit from.”
Sajeda is one of the many women who believes that, “there is still a lot of work to be done in regards to implementing and empowering the role of women in society, especially in regards to home-based businesses.” She sees the value in doing more to support employment efforts for vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees, especially for women. “Employability is consolidating and qualifying all the necessary sources and needs of all members of the family in order to lessen their burden of entering into the market,” said Sajeda excitedly. “This does not only fall on the men but also on the women and this is part of the project that we are focusing on working for the future.”
You can refer to the original article on Action Against Hunger Spain website by clicking here.
