ATTENTION: Since the COVID-19 PANDEMIC, all our non-essential and essential programming have ceased to run at our Hopes-Sitti Women's Center (where our programs take place) - HOWEVER, through the incredible dedication and support of our team, we have been able to switch our Banaat Connect programs to be facilitated remotely - continuing to provide much needed educational support, guidance, and continued learning during these difficult and uneasy times. Our programming continues to support the local community through virtual calls, coordination, and online support to refugee students and international students alike. This campaign is even more important during these difficult times in order to provide the needed social, mental and academic support to benefit refugee women during this pandemic. Supporting Heba's salary allows her to continue to work vigorously to support other refugee women in the community.
Our Ask: Help us support the livelihood of a Palestinian Refugee Woman's Salary to secure her employment.
We are asking for 10,000 people to make a small contribution of only $1.50! THAT'S LESS THAN YOUR CUP OF COFFEE! YOUR DONATION CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
We are raising $11,000 USD/$15,000 CAD to cover the monthly salary of Heba* - who is the sole breadwinner to her 3 disabled brothers and elderly father. This fund will help secure Heba for 24 months (where she earns 300 Jordanian Dinars/month). With your help, we can keep our program going.
*Name has been changed for privacy and protection purposes.
Breakdown of funds needed:
Salary for Heba for 24 Months: 600 CAD / month x 24 Months = $14,400 CAD
New Laptop Purchase for Heba: $600 CAD
Total ASK: $15,000 CAD.
The Situation: Ex-Gazan Palestinian refugees in Jerash Refugee Camp in Jordan face long-standing structural barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency. In addition to not having work permits in Jordan, they are longtime recipients of ineffective services that are not responsive to their needs. The lack of opportunity present in Jerash Camp means that women in the camp are often relied on by their families financially. These women, however, have limited access to opportunities to educate, empower, and employ themselves in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency for themselves and for their families.
How do we help?: Banaat Connect is an initiative that seeks to educate, empower, and employ young women in Jerash Refugee Camp. Through activities such as language exchange and education, skills training, and connections to employment opportunities, Banaat Connect is disrupting longstanding structural barriers faced by this population in a way that is led and developed by the women who are directly impacted.
We launched in 2016 as a virtual language exchange program between women in Jerash Camp studying English and women in the US and Canada studying Arabic. Since our launch, the program has logged over 1,500 conversation hours and had nearly 200 unique participants. We’ve also expanded our programming to include English classes, skill development training such as resume and interview workshops, and developed a tutoring program. Our current and former participants have gone on to become successful tutors, translators, and employees of Banaat Connect affiliate organizations.
How can you help?: Banaat Connect has been operating since 2016 by reinvesting fees paid by language exchange and tutoring participants based in the US and Canada, supplemented by grants and donations. This revenue is used for our primary cost: the salary of our Jerash Camp-based Program Director, Heba*. With limited sources of revenue for Heba's salary, her income becomes dependent on month-to-month fluctuations in language exchange enrollment fees. This limits Heba's ability to grow Banaat Connect’s impact and create meaningful long-term employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for women in Jerash Camp. We are asking for your support to help fund Heba's salary for the next two years so that she can focus on creating long-term self-sufficiency outcomes for ex-Gazan women, like herself, who support themselves and their families every day.
Information on Jerash Refugee Camp
REFUGEE WOMEN AND GIRLS
We operate out of Jerash Refugee Camp, which is located outside of Jerash City, about 55 km from Amman. The camp was established in 1968 as an “emergency” camp for refugees fleeing the Gaza Strip as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
The camp has existed for almost 50 years, and instead of the intended capacity of 11,500 persons in the camp, today an estimated 29,000 crammed into 0.75 square kilometers of space are forced to call this home. According to a UN report from 2013, the camp is the most poverty-stricken out of the ten official Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan.
Everyone who lives there, whether having fled there as a refugee or was born there, is without any rights. Unlike refugees from the West Bank, ex-Gazans are not considered citizens. They are not eligible for public services like public education, employment opportunities, or health care.
We provide educational opportunities for women and girls living in this camp. Although every person who lives here faces a lack of opportunity, this is especially crippling for females. We believe that allowing them to learn English and make connections with women from around the world, as well as providing them with professional development and employment pathways, will equip them to set goals and actually reach them, breaking out of the binds that restrict them.
FEMALE ARABIC LANGUAGE STUDENTS
One of the most important aspects of this program and why it has the potential for success is the element of exchange. Not only are native English speakers able to lend their skills to those living in the Camp, but the women and girls in the Camp are able to help the Arabic-learners as well. Relationships built on balance, we believe, are bound to be fulfilling.
Additionally, we are helping students learn Palestinian Arabic when ordinarily universities only teach Modern Standard Arabic. Learning an Arabic dialect allows one to fully experience life in the Middle East and understand pop culture like television and music.
Banaat Connect is a Beneficiary Program of Hopes for Women in Education in Jordan.
Banaat (Girls) Connect is one of the large-scale initiatives organized by Hopes for Women in Education. Hopes is a not-for-profit company registered since 2010 in Jordan that works to provide higher-education scholarships for underprivileged socio-economically disadvantaged refugee women in Jordan. In addition to ensuring full-scholarships, including tuition, transportation and academic fees are covered to Hopes’ Students, we work closely with students to ensure they build their skills and character to help them post-graduation. Hopes’ conducts monthly book-club sessions in partnership with Inkitab (a community-based book club organization), monthly workshops/training, periodic counseling and mentorship, as well as, post-graduation internship placement and career assignments.
Banaatconnect.org / contact@banaatconnect.org / BanaatConnect / Banaat Connect Language Exchange.
Visit Banaat Connect Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BanaatConn/
Visit Our Website: https://banaatconnect.org/
More information:
We are grateful for your donation and your support with helping our campaign. Below are some of the Rewards that will be distributed courtesy of Sitti Soap (www.sittisoap.com).
Handwritten Postcard.
3-Soap Gift Set.
Limited Edition Sitti x Millie Gift Box.
Disclaimer: "I, Noora Sharrab, am organizing this campaign on behalf of beneficiary (Heba*). All funds raised will be collected in my personal account and I attest that I will withdraw and send directly to the beneficiary (Heba) in Jordan."
