International Academy Amman school gives a check to UNICEF Jordan for children and women in Haiti
(Amman – 24 March, 2010) – The director of International Academy Amman handed over to Mr. Nasser Moeini, UNICEF Acting Representative in Jordan, a check for the amount of JD9,326 today. The funds were raised by the students of IAA and will be used by UNICEF to aid women and children in Haiti.
On the evening of 12 January, Haiti was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, the strongest earthquake in more than 200 years, with its epicentre some 17km south-west of the densely populated capital, Port-au-Prince. The impact will be remembered for the lifetime of Haiti’s children
To date child protection remains a priority. UNICEF has reached more than 40,000 children with psychological support, non-formal education and referral. UNICEF continues to register and assist unaccompanied children found on the streets of Port-au-Prince. UNICEF has also set up "Safe Spaces" for unaccompanied children and infants. UNICEF has reached more than 440,000 children with safe water.
A team called “Twelve Terrific Teachers” from the International Academy of Amman have teamed together as 10 amateur runners and 3 support crew to run the Dead 2 Red relay marathon which took place on 4th of March 2010 in Jordan. They completed the race in a very pleasing 19 hours and 5 minutes but were most pleased about the amount of funds they had raised by simply completing the task.
Mr. Nat Mulford, the team leader and a Grade 2 teacher at IAA said “Originally our team was going to raise funds for UNICEF that could be used for educational purposes but following the Haiti Earthquake, we have changed our focus to support UNICEF efforts in Haiti.”
He added “it gives us great pleasure to be part in relieving the children and women of the situation they are facing and to be able to improve the provision of education in areas of need around the world.“
UNICEF Acting Representative in Jordan, Mr. Moeini said “we are touched by IAA school’s involvement in raising funds to support UNICEF’s mission in protecting and supporting children and women in Haiti”. He added “we hope to see other initiatives in the future for the children and women in Jordan from schools, private sector and civil society.”
Mr. Moeini closed by saying “I have been in Jordan for many years and I saw how Jordanians gather for a good cause. I have no doubts that Jordanians have all what it takes to support UNICEF’s mission to protect and provide safe environment for children and women in Jordan be it through in-kind or monetary contributions.”
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UNICEF signs its 2010 annual work plan with the Ministry of Education and the Higher Council for Youth for the value of 718,080 Jordanian Dinars
(Amman – 17 February, 2010) – In a signing ceremony which was held on Wednesday 17 February 2010 at the Ministry of Education, the Minister Education, Dr. Ibrahim Badran, the president of the Higher Council for Youth, Mr. Ahmad Masarweh, and UNICEF Acting Representative, Mr. Nasser Moeini signed the 2010 annual work plan for Adolescents Participation and Empowerment Programme which will be carried out in 2010.The work plan is its third year of a five year programme (2008-2012) of cooperation between the government of Jordan and UNICEF on adolescents. This year the programme will focus on:
• Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) and the activation of the role of students and parents in improving the school environment: UNICEF will continue to support life skills based education (LSBE). The results of the evaluation of the impact of the (LSBE) training on teachers’ skills and teaching techniques conducted in 2009 will be used to enhance and improve the training of prevocational education teachers this year. This will be complemented by the advocacy and capacity building efforts targeting the student councils, parliaments and parent teachers associations (PTA) in 30% of the governmental schools and 50% of UNRWA schools.
• Improving the national data available on the situation of adolescents and youth: UNICEF together with Higher Council for Youth (HCY) and other United Nations organizations, will plan and implement a National Youth Survey to provide updated information on the situation of adolescents and youth in Jordan including their priorities, concerns and their aspirations – especially that the last survey was conducted more than 10 years ago. The finding of the survey will be used to build the second phase of the National Youth Strategy 2010 – 2015.
• Improving the quality of services provided at youth centres to become more adolescent friendly: The National Criteria on Adolescent Friendly Centres developed in 2009 with the Higher Council for Youth (HCY) and other non-governmental partners will be applied on the centres to provide the framework, principles and minimum criteria. This year, awareness will be raised among youth workers and decision makers these criteria, and capacities of resources from HCY and non-governmental organizations will be built to operationalize the criteria and scale it up to include more centres.
• Generating data on the situation of sport and play among children and adolescents and developing resources to train physical education teachers: As part of the International Inspiration (II) project which is the London legacy of the Olympics 2012, over 1 million children in Jordan, including girls and marginalised children, will be participating in quality physical education, sport and play, and leading healthier lives as a result.
• Enhancing better communication between adolescents and their parents: Intergenerational gap is a key area of concern of both parents and adolescents. Through a network of both governmental and non-governmental organizations throughout Jordan, better parenting sessions with parents of adolescents will continue to reach out to an increased number of parents.
Government, non-government and civil society commitment is achieving what is best for their children, and their willingness to create a healthy environment for their youngsters to grow up in is a major contributing factor to the work of UNICEF in Jordan.
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UNICEF signs 2010 Education work plans with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation for the value of 8.7 Million Jordanian Dinars (US$12.3 million)
(Amman – 17 February, 2010) – In a signing ceremony which was held today, Wednesday at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, and UNICEF Acting Representative, Mr. Nasser Moeini, signed the work plans of the Education programme benefiting Iraqi and Jordanian vulnerable children for the amount of JD 8.72 million. The Education programme also includes a psychosocial component.The work plans will be implemented in 2010 under the guidance of Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation, Education, and Social Development. Some of the programmes will be implemented through local and international non-governmental organizations. The objective of the plan is to contribute to the overall goal of the government and partners with respect to support to the Iraqi guests community in Jordan.
The Education Programme aims to sustain the quality and access of vulnerable children (including children with disabilities) in formal, non-formal, informal, remedial and special education. In addition, the programme will Expand ICT project to include another 20 public schools.
Achievements in 2009 were, supporting the ministry of education through the provision of 20,000 school kits which were delivered to vulnerable children nationwide. In addition, the programme supported the renting of 72 schools and double shifted 20 schools to improved quality of primary education for children in areas of high Iraqi concentration. Moreover, 14 multi-purpose rooms were established with the latest computer equipment and peripherals.
The Psychosocial Project aims to improve psychosocial wellbeing of vulnerable Iraqi and Jordanian children and families in Jordan. Under the “Psychosocial Care and Protection of Children in Crises” project, the project will support the training of 1,500 teachers in public schools in related methodologies.
Last year approximately 6,000 school principals and deputy principals have been provided with orientation sessions to enhance their capacity in dealing with vulnerable children in need of support. At the same time, UNICEF has supported International non-government organization (NGO) partners on building the capacity of local counterparts, non-government organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) in psychosocial care.
This financial support will continue in 2010 thanks to the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM) of the U.S. government for its generous support to Iraqi guest children in Jordan.
Of the US$12.3 million allocated to the programme, US$6.4 is funded and US$5.9 will be raised during 2010.
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UNICEF allocates over 1.2 million Jordanian Dinars to Child Protection and Young Child Survival and Development in Jordan for 2010
(Amman – 10 February, 2010) – In a signing ceremony which was held today, Wednesday at the Ministry of Social Development, the Minister of Social Development signed the work plans with UNICEF as it relates to her ministry.The amount of JD1,219,378 divided as follows: JD531,201 for the Young Child Survival and Development in Jordan and JD688,177 for Child Protection.
The Child Protection programme aims to contribute to an improved legislative environment for children and women to protect their rights with a special focus on Childhood Law and the Juvenile Act. A three year national communication campaign (Ma’An – Together) to reduce violence in schools and promote a culture of zero tolerance for child abuse has been launched by Her Majesty Queen Rania in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF in all public and UNRWA schools. The campaign aims at reducing violence in schools by 90 per cent by 2012. UNICEF in partnership with related entities in the Kingdom will work to support the proper diagnostic, referral and follow-up of child abuse cases in major public hospitals and health centres. As for children in conflict with the law, UNICEF and its partners will work on ensuring that these children are treated according to restorative justice principles and are re-integrated into their families and communities through establishing a centralised Juvenile Branch at the Police Headquarters responsible for the Children in conflict with the law.
The Young Child Survival and Development (YCSD) programme focuses on children aged 0-8 years and specifically on their psychological and cognitive development. A new Five-year National Plan of Action for Early Childhood Development (ECD) has been finalised in collaboration with different partners, and will be implemented this year. Through, this programme, parents and caregivers are to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge for proper child rearing. The programme aims to improve the quality of health care services for children under five years through the application of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses approach in health centres in six governorates. A national neonatal study will be undertaken this year to help strengthen the health system to prevent neonatal deaths. The Programme will also support a study to establish a baseline for Children’s Learning Readiness prior to entry in grade one.
The government’s commitment and openness in having a safe and healthy environment for children and women has been the driving force behind the successful implementation of UNICEF programme in Jordan. It has been a pioneer in the region with many initiatives such as enforcing and amending laws and legislations to adhere to international standards and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite the challenges ahead.