Woman-to-Woman

Mentoring and Capacity Building Leading to Job Creation for Orphaned Female Youth in Jordan

YIF

Main objectives are to create an opportunity for young Bank Staff to: Channel the ideas, knowledge and energy of youth in the Bank as

stakeholders in development; Build, empower and catalyze youth in WB’s client countries through

partnerships in implementing projects. Key criteria met by winning applications include sustainable activities that

build on on-going Bank operations and programs or link into CAS. Projects were given priority for using innovative approaches to project

preparation, involving country participation, embracing cross-sectoral and cross-country activities and/or partnerships with local institutions.

Awards for each winning project are limited to $10,000. Selection of successful proposals is made by a senior Selection Committee comprising the Development Marketplace, the Children & Youth Unit, and the Latin America Caribbean VPU.

The Problem

In Jordan, at the age of 18, orphan residents of care centers are required by law to leave these centers. At this very critical age, they find themselves without a home, wanting guidance and lacking a source of emotional and financial support.

Without higher education, skills, networks, or experience, they are usually obliged to accept low-income jobs in a strive to cover their immediate living expenses. Very often, these youth become overrepresented in prison populations because of mounting financial pressures, shortage of money-management skills, absence of suitable jobs and lack of support. Females are the most vulnerable of this disadvantaged group of youth.

Description of Activities

Woman-to-Woman project was designed to help young orphaned women receive guidance and mentoring and improve their skills, with a long-term goal of creating opportunities for them to be employed in well-paid jobs upon graduation.

Orphaned females aged between 19 and 25 were placed in internship programs at organizations/units managed by female executives. They spent 2 or 3 half-days weekly for 3months being coached on life and work skills.

Deliverables

Receive guidance and mentoring Improve their employability and life skills

(capacity building) Create productive jobs opportunities Provide income support to the interns

throughout the duration of the project. Introduce them to successful female role

models Network with business owners, up- and-

coming professionals and successful professional women.

Additional Training

Relationship of Proposal to World Bank Operational and Policy Work

This project proposal is aligned with the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Jordan for the period FY2006-FY2010.

CAS Cluster 1) Strengthening the Investment Environment and Building Human Resources for a Value-Added Skill-Intensive and Knowledge-Based Economy.

CAS Cluster 2) Supporting Local Development Through Increased Access to Services and Economic Opportunities.

CAS Cluster 3) Reforming Social Protection and Expanding Inclusion.

The proposal is especially relevant to the following Country Development Goals: Create jobs and income opportunities (CAS Cluster 1). An employer-driven training system producing skilled workers that employers want

(CAS Cluster 1). Promote pro-poor economic opportunities (CAS Cluster 2). Poverty reduction through better targeted and coordinated social services, and

income support for the poor and disadvantaged (CAS Cluster 3).

Evidence of impact

Mashael: I lived in care centers almost all my childhood, I married at eh age of 17 to a fellow orphan, I took the opportunity that Al Aman Fund provided and I am currently studying a vocational education course at the Sight and Sound Institute. My dream is to become an office manager or executive secretary. Taking an internship with the Municipality of Amman at Queen Rania Park, provided me with the opportunity to learn from “Meriam”, my manager, how to apply my office skills, and opened my eyes to the importance of a child care center in the work place, because I was relaxed in an environment that cares about employees children, I took my child with me to the Queen Rania Park’s day care center, and we both enjoyed it.

Razan: I took an internship at Siyaha, the national USAID funded program, there, I discovered my potentials and learned a lot about the skills that I still need to master to be able to excel in my future career. As soon as I finish my studies in business administration at Jordan University, I am planning to apply for a job at Siyaha, to secure a living and build my experience.

Future dissemination of the project

Al Aman Fund aims to expend the beneficiary base for this program in 2009, to include 100 interns, females and males, and to give them the opportunity to be trained and to practice what they learned in college in a real work situation.

If adequate funding is made available to allow for employment of a dedicated team to manage the project, and for subsidizing part of the internship financial compensation, this can become a countrywide initiative. Internship opportunities can be identified for hundreds of female and male orphans.

It can be expanded further to include all disadvantaged youth in their final phases of study at universities, technical colleges, and short courses.

My personal learning experience with YIF and W2W

In this project I learned that a small budget, real commitment, and building partnerships are enough to make a difference in the lives of tens of disadvantaged people.

10,000$ made a positive difference in the lives of 110 people- (less than $100 per person) (carry –over benefits and learning experiences)

This project has shown that the community is eager to support orphaned youth, and all that is needed is an entity that would manage the process, and a will to motivate stakeholders and lead them when the need arises.

I am grateful to YIF for giving me the chance to create and manage this project, and by doing so to participate in creating a better tomorrow for Jordanian orphaned females and youth.

Thank you

Dana S. Shuqom , MSc, CMWorld Bank STCExecutive Director- Business & Professional Women-Amman