newsletter WINTER 2021, ISSUE 211 in this issue 1-2 Anera is Back in Jordan! Anera is Back in Jordan! 3 With an influx of refugees from four regional wars in just 70 years and a By the Numbers: lack of water and other resources, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Some Facts About Refugees and its people face many challenges. Millions of refugees from these conflicts Vulnerable Communities in Jordan live in Jordan. The country has more than two million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. It has the second highest number of 3 UNHCR-registered refugees in the world, at 655,000. Doing Something to Help Palestine by Janah Szewczyk The refugee population places a huge burden on the country's services and resources. In order to help respond to the enormous needs, Anera 4-5 returned to Jordan in 2019, after an eight-year absence. Our support in Map of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene the initial stages focuses on medical aid and humanitarian relief and Projects in Gaza educational programming, which are particularly important during COVID times. 6 In Case You Missed It: Delivering Medical Aid The Latest From anera.org Shortages of medicines and healthcare supplies are a chronic problem in Jordan's refugee camps. Anera has a venerable track record in delivering medical donations across Palestine and Lebanon, and we are well positioned to do the same in Jordan. In 2020, Anera delivered two pilot shipments to Jordan as a test to continued on page 2 credits Anera is Back in Jordan! continued from page 1 BY THE NUMBERS The Anera newsletter is published quarterly by American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera), a non-profit agency established in 1968 and dedicated to providing development, health, education and employment programs to Some facts about refugees and vulnerable Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East. communities in Jordan Material in this newsletter may be reproduced without prior permission, provided credit is given and a copy of the publication in which the 10 Palestinian & 2 million item is used is sent to Anera. Subscriptions are free of charge. Any inquiries should be sent to Education is core to breaking the cycle of poverty for refugees in Jordan. 5 Syrian refugee camps Palestinian refugees the address below. exist in Jordan, though the live in Jordan, with a large navigate the importation and distribution processes after our Anera’s Board Officers absence. The shipments, valued at $18,000 and $12,000 respectively, vast majority of refugees live in percentage living below the Joe Saba, Chair included chronic medicines and vitamin D droplets distributed to Jordanian cities. national poverty line. Grace Tompkins, Vice Chair two of Anera’s excellent in-country partners, Jordanian Medical Larry Hamdan, Treasurer Sanaa Abouzaid, Secretary Aid for Palestinians (JMAP) and Syrian American Medical Society, Sean Carroll, President & CEO which were previously forced to reduce or halt their operations due 13% of 1.4 million refugees from Editors: Liz Demarest and Dan Riley to COVID-19. Jordanian citizens Syria live in Jordan. Contributing Writers: Anera is currently sending another shipment to Jordan of vital Serene Dardari, Rania Elhelo, Steve Fake, medications for chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. live below the national poverty Although Jordan has five refugee Dan Riley and Janah Szewczyk Despite facing significant delays due to COVID-19 restrictions at line and lack access to quality camps for Syrians, 83 percent live Contributing Photographers: the port, Anera’s shipment will depart from the UK soon. We are education and health care. in poverty in Jordanian cities. Serene Dardari, Nada Dejani, Liz Demarest, working with International Medical Corps, a leading health partner, Rania Elhelo and Ibrahim Zaanoun. to provide these medications that target vulnerable Jordanians as Anera never rents or sells our list. well as in-camp and out-of-camp refugees. ISSN 1966-3584 Closing the Education Gap WHY I SUPPORT ANERA | DOING SOMETHING TO HELP PALESTINE Anera Education is core to breaking the cycle of poverty in which refugee 1111 14th Street NW, #400 By Janah Szewczyk families in Jordan have been trapped. Washington, DC 20005 In 2009, I got interested in a work camp opportunity with a group 202.266.9700 We are currently starting a program that will address learning gaps called Volunteers for Peace. I saw that the International Palestinian [email protected] by providing gently used laptops with educational enrichment Youth League had a camp in the West Bank and I jumped at the chance, anera.org materials loaded onto them that help students better prepare since I had long wanted to visit Palestine. for and participate in the formal education system. The laptops address challenges imposed by the pandemic, by giving teachers I spent two weeks there in the Bethlehem area, specifically in the the opportunity to expand their ability to teach in a remote Beit Jibrin and Aida refugee camps. I got to know farmers, kids, their learning environment using digital academic materials. parents, and so many other wonderful people. Hebron was the most impactful thing I saw and experienced. The old city is strangled by We are also securing funding for early childhood development an Israeli settlement and businesses are barely surviving. I thought I Anera News Cover Photo: (ECD) to reach young learners during the most critical cognitive was prepared for what I’d experience in Palestine, but there was a lot Jerash camp is located in a beautiful, verdant and social developmental phase of life. In these efforts we will area of northern Jordan. The residents there that was hard to bear witness to. Though the experience was fun and are 1967 Palestinian refugees and they have no build on our strong programs and experience with preschools in fruitful, it also gave me nightmares. Anera community member, rights (as opposed to those who came in 1948, Palestine. Janah Szewczyk. When I came back to the US, I was talking to a colleague of mine who have full rights). They are very limited Anera’s ECD pilot project in Jordan will go hand-in-hand with in the professions they can practice. In other about my time in Palestine. And she told me that I should talk to her sister, who worked at a wonderful camps, there is a mix of ‘48 and ‘67 refugees. women’s economic empowerment. Women who have opportunities organization called Anera. She even arranged a meeting with her sister and two of Anera’s program staff In Jerash, the 40,000 refugees are from ’67 so to send their young children to school are better able to find jobs from Ramallah and Gaza. That was when I started my donations to Anera. they do not have social security numbers. They outside of the home. cannot enroll in schools or qualify for health A few years ago, I discovered that there was such a thing as discounted stock purchases for employees at care. Anera will be working in the camp to Our Jordan reentry is still in the early phases, but we have my company and that I could give donations to organizations from my purchased stock. This way I can address some of these pressing needs. cultivated good relationships with local partners and we are give significantly more than I could have if I were giving cash. After some initial paperwork and a little Photo by Liz Demarest identifying donors who want to help. We are well on our way to planning, it’s now a simple process. Frankly, it feels good to be using stocks to do something noble in building a strong and impactful presence there. the world! 2 Learn more about our Jordan work at anera.org/jordan Learn more about donating stocks to Anera, at: anera.org/donate-stock 3 Wastewater network in Al Maslakh Storm gully cleanup WASH PHASE BENEFICIARIES on various streets Water network Direct Indirect in western Al Sabra Wastewater network Water network Storm water network Water network in Baker BEIT LAHIA in Al Shaimaa in Al Shaimaa WASH I Project 38,948 180,000 in eastern Al Sabra Water well in Al Attatra Water network Water network WASH II Project 40,561 150,000 in Amman and Yaman streets in Hettin Wastewater network Wastewater network in Al Hmamia GAZA CITY Water network in in Al Hawaber WASH III Project 27,985 400,000 Water network Izbet Beit Hanoun Wastewater network in Rosary School Street Wastewater network in Al Bassa Water well (F203) in Water network in BEIT HANOUN Al Batta Wastewater network in Mughraqa Al WASH IV Project 22,870 127,000 Wastewater network Mashahra & Al Zarqaa in Abu Ma’alla Wastewater network in Al Maslakh in Al Garaman MUGHRAQA Water network NUSEIRAT in Al Tawahin ZAWAYDA Water network Wastewater network Water network under local roads BEIT HANOUN under Street No. 18 in Masha’ala DEIR AL BALAH Wastewater network in Zawayda BUREIJ WADI GAZA MAGHAZI Wastewater network at Wastewater network Tarek Ben Ziad Street Wastewater network in Al Amal Wastewater network Water well in Wastewater network in Al Sa’aida in Al Mansoura Gameel Al Shawa in Al Lahham Wastewater network Wastewater network in Al Ghussain in Al Sattar Wastewater network on KHAN YOUNIS Storm water basin Water network Hayat School Street Storm water network in Asqula in Tal Al Sultan, Junina Water network in in Al Sekka Street Al Araishiyya Water network in Al Fajem Wastewater network in Gizan Al Najjar Wastewater network Wastewater network in Al Eman in western Rafah Water & sanitation network BEIT SUHAILA in Khan Younis city Wastewater network on Macca Street Wastewater network Wastewater network in Al Shabora under local roads in Water network on various roads in Absan Al Jadida Bani Suhaila ABASAN RAFAH Water network on various Wastewater network in roads in Absan Al Kabira Wadi Al Zanna Wastewater network Wastewater at Al Quds in northern Al Shoka Street, Abu Jama’a Wastewater network in Zeitoun Water well in Jabalia Suqia Jenin water well Wastewater network FUKHKHARI Workers dig deep trenches in the street in A merchant with his freshly washed A young boy uses his family's newly in southern Al Shoka KHUZA’A order to lay the new sewage lines.