Newsletter
Stakeholder Report January 2010
Habitat for Humanity Jordan, P.O Box 910614, Amman 11191, Jordan
www.habitatjordan.org [email protected] +962-6-461 2081
Program Highlights
•
November 2009
Citibank and Al-Nisr Insurance employees participated on a house build in Habaka. Eight Citibank
employees kicked off the build on Saturday, November 7th and Al-Nisr Insurance employees
continued with 3 additional one-day builds from November 8th – 10th, part of HFH Jordan’s effort to
promote local volunteering among Jordanians and companies operating in Jordan.
Citibank and Al-Nisr Insurance employees from left to right
•
December 2009
Contracts were signed with Al Taybeh and Al Mokhaba Al Tahta, two new jamayat (partner
communities) HFH Jordan plans to build with, located in the north of Jordan.
Thomas Stocker and Mohammed Malkawi signing contracts with the 2 new partner communities
•
January 2010
On January 10th, HFH Jordan signed an agreement with the University of Jordan to work together on
improving the housing community in Sweileh through their Community Development Center.
Key Facts
539 families served
142 loans paid off
$1,044,136 housing fund
82% on time repayment within 90 days
HFH Jordan partnership with University of Jordan
Newsletter Page 2
Program Highlights (continued)
•
The first Global Village build of 2010 took place in Ghor Al Safi near the Dead Sea in the south
of the country from January 3rd – 7th. The team consisted of 13 participants from the USA, one
Canadian and leader Nora Liksai from Hungary from diverse backgrounds including novices to
multiple build participants. Volunteer Coordinator for HFHJ, George Clarke and Program
Coordinator Romel Ziadeh joined them on their home building adventure. In the end the team
built 6 exterior walls and prepared most of the rebar for the roof, a typical result for the size of
team and length of build. Homeowner Salem Al Shuaar, wife Zanab and their children visited
the build site a number of times and in spite of working and some physical limitations, not to
mention a new baby less than a month old, they did their best to bring tea and interact with the
GV Team. The family will now have a decent two bedroom home and be able to move out of a
similar sized house they now share with one of Salem’s grown sons, where 15 people currently
live together. Over the next 7 years the family will make monthly payments of approximately
60 JD ($84.60) to the jamaia until the house loan is paid.
The team with homeowner and family
Brick Dance Line
Last day group shot with build
accomplishment in the background
Staff Update
•
On November 22, 2009 George Clarke joined HFH Jordan as the Volunteer Coordinator volunteer
responsible for Global Village and Local Volunteer initiatives. George recently retired after a 32
year career with Hydro One, the largest electrical Utility in Ontario, Canada. George has more
than 25 years experience with volunteer and community based organizations such as Boy Scouts,
Optimist International, Youth for Understanding and the Independent Order of Oddfellows as
well as participating in community outreach groups, tutoring, mentoring and scholarship
administration. George has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Political Science from
Laurentian University and additional studies in Project Management, Management Studies,
Supervision and Human Resources. Along with his family George has travelled to over 20
countries on 6 continents and hosted exchanges students from half a dozen countries for periods
from 2 months to a year. George has hands on experience in the Global Village program
participating in builds in India, Zambia, Guatemala and Jordan over the last 14 months.
Our Supporters
A special thank you to our generous supporters this past quarter
George
Clarke
Affiliate Partners:
Evansville
Kitsap County
Milledgeville/Baldwin County
Jacksonville
Metro Denver
Omaha
Individual Donors:
Quinn and Nancy Fox
Greg Foster
Kathy Lewis
David Piet
Newsletter Page 3
Page 3
Newsletter Title
Homeowner Story: Khalad and his Family from Al Himmeh
Homeowner Khalad, his wife and his daughter
Khalad is homeowner # 11 out of 539 families
HFH Jordan has served since 2001. His greatest
struggle was lack of independence when he and
his family lived in his brother’s home. Health
was also an issue; his children would get sick
from the animal fleas and from using the outside
toilet during the winter. Since owning a Habitat
home, not only do they have the freedom they
once used to crave, but their health has
improved and they have been able to save
money. In addition, his children’s grades are
better than before as a result of the added space
to study and the computer bought with their
savings.
When we visited Khalad and his family in November 2009, we were glad to know he had
already paid off his 7 year Habitat loan and was looking to expand his home to accommodate
his 9 family members. He shared with us that, in retrospect, when he first applied for the
home loan more than seven years ago, he worried that he would not be able to make his
payments as his salary was only 180JD a month. Much to his surprise, right before he moved
in to his new HFH home, his salary increased to 280JD.
Today, he earns additional income from the grey water system installed in his home, part of a
HFH Jordan pilot project. He grows fruits and vegetables in his backyard garden using this
water. He has not had to pump his septic tank in 8 years, saving him an average of 65JD
every 3 months. Hi wife, the entrepreneur, also contributes by selling snacks she prepares in
her kitchen to kids after school. Today, he is convinced that anything is possible and most
importantly he tells us that without HFH Jordan’s funding and help they would have never had
the money to build a home.
Khalad’s living room and kitchen
Building Houses, Building Hope
One Jordanian Family at a Time