Press release
Republic of Korea Commits $1 Million to Support UNICEF’s Lifesaving Interventions for Refugees in Jordan
UNICEF welcomes the generous $1 million contribution from the Republic of Korea to sustain critical Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene services as well as child-sensitive justice and protection systems for Syrian refugees in Jordan. Thanks to this funding, more than 78,000 Syrian refugees in Za’atari camp will continu...
Article
Forced to grow up before my time – my life as a girl in Za’atari refugee camp.
A refugee camp is a place that forces children to grow up before their time. When I first came here, almost ten years ago, I remember the shock of seeing a place that looked so alien to me. Life was so difficult and it took me a long time for me to accept that this was my new reality. On that very first day, I was...
Article
Makani Programme Making a Difference in Sham and Miaman Lives
Sham and Miaman are two Syrian girls who together with their families fled the conflict in their country and found refuge in Za’atari camp. As thousands of children in the camp, Sham and Miaman needed a place to learn, make friends, enjoy their childhood and overcome the hardships of refugee life. They found this ...
Article
Safe water brings relief to families in Za’atari Refugee Camp
Ayat can still clearly remember the day, over a decade ago, when her young family was forced to flee from their home in Syria across the border to Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp to seek shelter. “It was devastating leaving everything behind,” recalled the mother of two. “Then when I saw the camp, I wept for days.”...
Article
School transportation essential to keep vulnerable children in Jordan learning
Lina, 8, is all smiles as she boards the UNICEF-supported bus to her school from the remote farm on the outskirts of Amman where she lives with her family. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up, just like the one in the public school that she attends with her younger sister. “If it weren’t for this bus, m...
Article
Reading Recovery: a ray of light for girls in Za’atari refugee camp
When 12-year-old Ghofran, a Syrian refugee living in Za’atari refugee camp, returned to school following the COVID-19 pandemic she was devastated to discover that she had fallen behind in her learning. “I was sad that I couldn’t read and write in school,” explains the fifth grader. “I was struggling so much in Ara...
Article
“When there’s education, there’s always light”
Hazaar, 18, is feeling remarkably calm despite the pressure of final year exams weighing on her. “We’re almost there,” she exclaims cheerfully. No stranger to adversity, her journey to complete her education has been a fraught one. As a young girl growing up in Syria, she was forced to change schools six times in...
Report
Summative Impact Evaluation of the UNICEF Jordan Makani Programme
UNICEF Jordan has commissioned a summative evaluation of its Makani Programme with a focus on the period from March 2018 through December 2020; it includes interventions implemented directly by UNICEF and by implementing partners (IPs) across refugee camps, host communities and informal tented settlements (ITSs). ...
Press release
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan returns to Jordan to meet refugees affected by the COVID-19 education crisis
Nearly a decade since Syrian education activist Muzoon first arrived in Jordan as a young refugee, she returns at the beginning of a new academic year to inspire children to get back to learning following one of the world’s longest COVID-19 school closures AMMAN/NEW YORK, 31 August 2022 – During a three-day visi...
Article
A footballer, an Astronaut and an Artist walk into a Makani
Moodie, 12, dreams of exploring space. Here she is standing in front of a mural in a Makani centre in Azraq Refugee Camp. UNICEF/Bashar Al-Ja’bari/2022 Moodie, 12, dreams of exploring space. Here she is standing in front of a mural in a Makani centre in Azraq Refugee Camp. With Azraq Refugee Camp having been established in 2014, it’s safe to safer…
Blog post
The Youngest Refugee Taekwondo Practitioner in the World
Rida, Othman and Dua’a during a training in a Makani centre in Azraq Camp. ©UNICEF/Al-Ja’bari/2022 Rida, Othman and Dua’a during a training in a Makani centre in Azraq Camp. “I like Taekwondo as it makes me feel confident and strong, it also helps one to be more disciplined.” says Mohammad. “As a Taekwondo player, I learnt a lot throughout the…
Blog post
Helping Fadwa’s Family Stay Safe and Warm
Fadwa's children Fadwa, a mother of three and stepmother of five children, fled Syria seven years ago. Like so many Syrians in Jordan, her journey for refuge began in the desert. “Things weren’t as good there as they are now,” she says. Fadwa moved to Amman to get married to a man she had known in Syria, who was already established in the capital…