Project profile — Enhancing Child Protection, Education and Economic Resilience in Jordan

This project aims to improved resilience and well-being of Syrian refugees and host communities in four governorates in Jordan (Irbid, Mafraq, Amman and Zarqa). To do so, the project seeks to improve girl’s and boy’s education outcomes, strengthen child protection and enhance the economic resilience of refugee and host community families. Project activities include: (1) increasing knowledge of teachers in child-friendly methodologies and child rights; (2) increasing access to safe opportunities within communities for gender responsive development and psychosocial support for girls and boys; and (3) increasing household savings (on energy and water) through adoption on renewable energy and resources.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved education outcomes for refugee and host community girls and boys in four governorates in Jordan; (2) strengthened child protection policies, services and structures at the household, community and ministerial level; and (3) enhanced economic resilience of refugee and host community families with sustained gains in renewable energy and resources usage.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 2019) include: (1) construction or rehabilitation of 40 classrooms was completed; (2) 1,396 children (of which 551 were girls) gained access to education in these new classrooms; (3) more than 604 children (of which 297 were girls) gained access to early childhood care and development (ECCD) centres; (4) 354 caregivers participated in sessions designed to engage them in their children’s care and increase community awareness and knowledge on child protection issues; (5) 33 child-led initiatives were completed in 10 schools. These child-led initiatives were intended to encourage children to take an active part in their schools and local communities; (6) 201 teachers (of which 113 were women) participated in training sessions designed to: (i) activate the role of school parliaments, Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) and school counselors; (ii) create a partnership between schools and local communities; and (iii) develop capacity on how to deal with refugee students in emergency situations; (7) 6 Family Protection Department (FPD) centers were renovated and furnished to provide a more child-friendly environment for children and families needing to report abuse or violence to FPD; (8) 6 playgrounds have been refurbished to provide safe spaces for children to play; (9) 8 Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) benefited more than 796 children between the ages of 6 and 11 with psychosocial and creative activities, allowing children to learn and play in a space that is safe and comfortable; (10) 241 FPD staff members (of which 115 were women) engaged in 11 training sessions, including on principles for investigating cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse, violence against women, and preparing social studies; (11) 8 child protection committees (CPCs) have been established, each consisting of between 10 and 60 community members (women and men). The main functions of CPCs are case referrals, and facilitation of support to help survivors of violence; (12) 214 child protection committee members (of which 123 were women) were trained in child protection, abuse and violence prevention and response; (13) 20 households had grey water reuse systems installed, connected to the electricity grid, and have received training on the proper operations and maintenance required; (14) 799 Jordanian and Syrian households received solar powered water heating units; and (15) house-to-house renewable energy campaigns reached more than 50,000 individuals.