Were you relieved when you could sleep again? If so, you’re not alone. 55% of adults and 80% of kids in the Jordan Safe Spaces project reported sleeping better at night as a major impact in their lives. Hard to imagine a more important impact than that—tied up in ideas of safety, stress relief, and hope for the future.
The Jordan Emergency Assistance and Safe Spaces for Crisis Affected People project ran from 2016 to 2018 with $1.6 million from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. It reached 22,857 people, and partnered with AYDON, Al-Shamal Society, Zadcom for Relief and Development, Bushra Center, and the Jordanian Society for Widows and Orphans.
What did we accomplish?
- Families have higher incomes: Families in the project saw their income go up by $104 per month, and had better access to activities where they could earn money.
- Women have more say over income: 92% of participants said that trainings led them to have more equal gender roles at home, greater income control for women, and more respect for women.
- Participants are 100% satisfied: 100% of project participants are satisfied with CARE’s process and case management systems. They report higher access to information as a key success of the project.
- Families are less stressed: 100% of people in the small business trainings reported increases in self esteem and feeling safer. 55% of people in the peer group activity say they feel more connected and sleep better at night.
How did we get there?
- Help people access resources: The project helped 35 people get work permits, and got cash transfers for 1,117 families. 94% of families preferred cash support to in-kind gifts.
- Do your homework: the project built form a national level needs assessments and market analysis to tailor trainings to opportunities that would work for refugees.
- Think about stress relief: 13,268 people participated in safe spaces, play groups, and stress management activities.
- Build community: The project organized community events between Syrians and Jordanians to reduce tension and build relationships.
- Provide information transparently: The project worked to make sure that everything was transparent by providing information on the results of the needs assessment, communicating about the cash transfers and referral services.
Want to learn more?
Check out the project evaluation.