The Jordan Times

By Laila Azzeh 
 

JERASH – Tens of women from Jerash Governorate have become self-sufficient entrepreneurs thanks to the National Goodwill Campaign.
 

Around 30 underprivileged women in the northern governorate have been assisted by the campaign to start their own businesses, ranging from catering to plastic flower manufacturing and a sewing workshop.
 

Among the beneficiaries, eight local women started a sewing workshop at the Princess Basma Centre in Jerash, which is now a thriving business.
 

“Each one of us used to work on our own. Then we thought it would be better for us to work together and cooperate to enhance our business,” Um Ahmed, one of the eight women, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.
 

HRH Princess Basma, president of the campaign’s higher committee, visited several areas in Jerash yesterday to check on income-generating projects provided to underprivileged families by the campaign and to distribute new projects and scholarships to residents of Kitta village and Souf refugee camp.
 

One of the beneficiaries is Sabah Maraziq, who said the lack of a birth certificate prevented her from obtaining an education.
 

“I grew up with 11 sisters and five brothersØ© my father was so poor that he could not afford the fee to obtain birth certificates for over half of us,” the 28-year-old told The Jordan Times.
 

Maraziq completed the fourth-grade yesterday under a literacy programme organised by the Princess Basma Centre in Jerash.
 

“I used to feel embarrassed and insecure but now I have confidenceØ© I now want to continue towards university studies,” she said.
 

Princess Basma visited with Maraziq and other women benefiting from the literacy programme.
 

Also during yesterday’s tour, Princess Basma distributed 42 scholarships to students in the Souf refugee camp and awarded income-generating projects to 21 underprivileged families in the camp. Eighty orphans also received clothing, schoolbags and supplies as part of the campaign.
 

During her visit, the Princess also announced that JD8,000 will be donated to the Orphan Boys Committee, affiliated with Al Aqsa Club in the camp.
 

As part of the National Goodwill Campaign, Princess Basma will also tour the Balqa Governorate and Sahab during the holy month of Ramadan.
 

The National Goodwill Campaign, first launched by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development in 1991, has served numerous underprivileged families and has grown over the years to become synonymous with support for the poor and marginalised.
 

In cooperation with the private sector, the campaign has enabled needy families to benefit from vital services by providing health and education assistance as well as income-generating projects.