WFP honours Jordanian, Syrian women entrepreneurs

AMMAN — The World Food Programme (WFP) on Saturday honoured 10 Jordanian and Syrian women in Amman after they successfully managed to start their own businesses and join the workforce in the Kingdom thanks to a vocational training they received by the UN agency. 

The programme offers both Syrian and Jordanian women and men a daily-paid vocational training to equip them with the necessary skills to make ends meet, Faten Al Hindi, donor and private sector relations and communications officer at WFP, said. 

"WFP supports around 160,000 Jordanian who suffer from food insecurity through this project. The training lasts between three and four months, and afterwards, they will be able to find a new source of income and a new job in Jordan," she told The Jordan Times during the ceremony.

She noted that these women received training in several professions, including baking and handicrafts, while men attended training on blacksmithing and carpentry.  

"This programme is designed to help the Jordanian government. We started it in 2014 and it is still ongoing," the WFP official added. 

Zad Al Kheer Zu'bi, a Syrian from Daraa who is currently residing in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, said her husband has been detained in Syria and this project enabled her to find a new way to cover the needs of her family. 

"I benefited from it because I now can make money through the skills I gained. I learned to knit nylon bags and learned how to work in childcare," the mother of three added. 

Maha Amariah, from Salt, said she managed to help her retired husband  financially thanks to the training she attended.

"I improved my financial situation by learning sewing, and I hope I can open a store," Amariah added.