SOS relies on the kindness and generosity of Canadians to be able to provide a home for the most vulnerable children around the world.
By becoming a child sponsor you are helping an individual child in need.
(You will receive a Canadian charitable tax receipt)
Please help us ensure a loving home for every child. Sponsor a child in Jordan now.
SOS Children's Villages in Irbid
The difficult situation many refugee families face seriously endangers family stability, the ability of parents to care for and protect their children, and therefore the children’s healthy development. Often, children are separated from their families and have no one to care for them. Conditions at orphanages have been reported to be dismal.
SOS Children’s Villages began its work in Irbid in 1999. Today, children from the region who are no longer able to live with their parents can find a loving home in one of twelve SOS families. In each family, the children live with their brothers and sisters, affectionately cared for by their SOS mother.
The children attend local kindergartens and schools, ensuring that children from SOS families make friends and are integrated into the local community from a young age.
When young people who grew up in one of the SOS families feel ready to move out of home in order to study, receive training or work, the SOS Youth Programme continues to support them as they make the transition into independent adulthood. The young adults live together in our houses for boys and for girls, supervised and guided by a qualified SOS counsellor. Of course the young people also maintain close contact with their SOS mother and siblings.
Urban poverty and a tough life in the refugee camps
Irbid is located in northernmost Jordan near the border with Syria and is the country’s second largest city with a population of over 660,000 in its metropolitan area. The city’s economy is based mainly on the service sector. Although rates of rural poverty continue to be higher than those for urban poverty in Jordan, the highest concentration of poor people do live in the country’s urban centres. This includes Irbid, where pockets of abject poverty exist across the city.
Irbid is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. Before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, around 25,000 Palestinian refugees live at the camp in Irbid. Overcrowded schools, high unemployment, high population density and insufficient availability of health care are some of the issues that impact their lives.
In recent years, Jordan has taken in many more political refugees from Syria. Most of these refugees crossed the border illegally. Many of them live in poverty, unable to find jobs and adequate housing. For children, this situation is particularly difficult, as they are not only torn from their homes and the environment they are familiar with, but many of them have experienced violence and traumatic events.
The majority of women are well educated but do not work
Despite Jordan’s generally stable economy and developing industry, unemployment rates remain high, particularly for young people. According to a UNICEF report, some of the main reasons why it can be so difficult for young people to find employment are a lack of career guidance, a lack of jobs that match university qualifications and skills, as well as cultural obstacles that hinder women’s full integration into the labour market. Less than twelve per cent of Jordanian women currently participate in the economic sector.
Although universal primary education for both boys and girls has virtually been achieved in the country, and secondary school enrolment rates are even slightly higher for girls than for boys, women are still at a certain disadvantage when it comes to matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance, which are regulated by Sharia courts in Jordan. The country’s Personal Status Law states that all unmarried women under 40 are considered legal minors and are under the guardianship of a male relative. This means, for example, that a woman cannot start a business without the consent of her guardian.
Women and girls are also at risk of suffering domestic or sexual violence. Though rape is a criminal offence in Jordan, spousal rape is not, and rape charges can be dropped if the perpetrator agrees to marry the victim.
Our Impact
Image
The SOS Children's Village in Jordan provides loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children |
1 VILLAGES | 73 Orphaned and Abandoned Children |
Image
The SOS Youth Facilities in Jordan provides youth with a loving environment where they learn to transition into independent living and to expand their education |
2 YOUTH FACILITIES | 80 Youths in our Care |
Our Impact