The IsDB and Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund have funded a two-year US$10 million initiative with international non-governmental organization SPARK to support refugees and vulnerable communities in Jordan and Lebanon.
The regional initiative aims to support the Skills Training Education Program (STEP) in the two countries in order to skill-up entrepreneurs, modernize existing curricula, connect participants to the labor market, create sustainable jobs and offer training and internship placements, among others.
“STEP, which is active in Jordan and Lebanon, will impact refugee youth (50%), as well as host community youth (50%) aged 15–24 years, with 50% participation from women. In Lebanon, the geographical focus is on North Lebanon, Tripoli and Beirut, and in Jordan, the geographical focus is on Irbid, Zarqa, Mafraq and Amman,” a spokesperson from SPARK told ISFI.
Funding from the IsDB and the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund will be channeled via the Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children, which was jointly established by the IsDB and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
Over the two-year span, the program will reach 1,192 at-risk youth, women and entrepreneurs and a further 495 SMEs.
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Breakdown of the program’s expected impact:
SPARK will work with multiple private sector entities, non-profit partners and higher education institution partners throughout Jordan and Lebanon to implement the four components of the activities dubbed ‘skill-up’, ‘match-up’, ‘start-up’ and ‘scale-up’. |