In Azraq Town, Jordanians and Syrians are working together through Action Against Hunger’s project, “Implementing Solid Waste Management in Azraq Municipality for Host Communities and Syrian Refugees in Azraq Town,” funded by Taiwan International Cooperating and Development Fund (ICDF) and Ville de Paris. This project provides short- term employment opportunities on a cash for work basis to produce organic compost to sell to local farmers in the area. To complement the compost production, the project conducted studies of local solid waste management practices and the marketability of compost in the surrounding area. It also contributed to local institutional capacities, set up a waste sorting unit, and promoted messages on solid waste management with the local public.
One of the Jordanians employed through the project is Team Leader Jamalat. “I do not like being without work and was always passionate about discovering new job opportunities,” Jamalat explained during a visit to the compost site. After obtaining her Tawjihi, the general high school examination certificate in Jordan, she worked as the manager of a sewing factory and making pastries before landing a job at Azraq Refugee Camp. It was while working at the camp that she heard about Action Against Hunger’s project in Azraq Town. She applied for the job, as she understood the nature of composting, and passed the application process with flying colours.
Jamalat oversees the “Cash for Work” workers at the compost site, including managing their rosters and annual leave. She also monitors the compost production mixing process and general site control. With time, she acquired experience and competence, building up her own managerial skills. As her contract was approaching to an end and she was preparing to leave, she received the good news that she had been extended. “Upon hearing this, I was ecstatic. This boosted my morale and my motivation” she recalls. In the team she monitors, Jordanians and Syrian refugees work side by side towards the same goal: contributing to the local community by re-using farming waste “I know that this work is not easy, but the project we are working on is meaningful and so rewarding that it is worth the effort.”
ACF Implements Cash for Work projects engaging both Syrian and Jordanian population, and provided short-term employment opportunities through to 284 workers in Azraq, Irbid and Madaba governorate in 2019.
You can read the original article in the Jordan INGO Forum (JIF) Newsletter Issue 13 by clicking here.
