Queen visits Dar Al Aytam Society to support Nashmi Centre project for orphan care

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Sunday visited Dar Al Aytam Society in Marka to learn about a newly implemented volunteer initiative by the Nashmi Centre for Youth Empowerment, which aims to transform the facility into a model orphanage, a statement by Her Majesty's office said. 

Welcomed by Director of the Society Zuhrieh Al Salman, and founder of Nashmi Centre Ala’ Al Bashiti, Her Majesty met with a group of the centre’s volunteers, who briefed her on their year-long project to revamp the orphanage and upgrade its services. 

The Queen lauded Nashmi volunteers’ efforts and thanked them for paying special attention to the needs of orphaned children in Jordan.

“An orphaned child is deprived of the love and care of his family, and must be treated as one of our own children. It is our humanitarian and religious duty to nurture and look after our orphans,” she said. 

Her Majesty stressed that orphaned children are among the most vulnerable groups in society, and warned that complacency in regards to the quality of care and services they receive cannot be tolerated.

Launched this month under the title “My Project”, Nashmi Centre’s initiative aims to challenge the status quo of orphan care and create a more sustainable and durable role for volunteers at orphanages, departing from longstanding seasonal campaigns to support this vulnerable group of young Jordanians. Orphan care is known to peak in Ramadan and Muslim holidays, and taper off during the remainder of the year, leaving many children who need consistent support in limbo. 

In that regard, Her Majesty shed light on the inadequacy of this occasional care to create a substantial and sustainable impact on these children’s lives and emphasised the pivotal role volunteers play in breaking this cycle and translating compassion and empathy into tangible action. 

"Volunteers are integral to enhancing the quality of services provided to orphans, building various partnerships for their benefit, and providing care and social integration opportunities for them,” she said. 

The project will be executed in three phases this year. The first will include a full-fledged renovation of the society by volunteers with the help of orphans. The second will pair each orphan with a volunteer, who will act as a mentor and be responsible for helping the orphan with academics, social integration, personality development and a graduation project. The third and final phase will see the completion of the orphans’ graduation projects, with all expenses covered by Nashmi. 

Launched in 2016, the Nashmi Centre for Youth Empowerment is a non-profit organisation that promotes social work and volunteering across the country. Aiming to position volunteerism as a way of life and a moral obligation among Jordan’s youth, Nashmi encompasses several volunteering campaigns addressing social issues.

Nashmi also lobbies against the use of firearms at public events, raises awareness to protect youth from cybercrime, performs repairs and maintenance at primary schools and works to assimilate people with disabilities into society.

Dar Al Aytam society was founded in 1968 as a centre for boys between the ages of six and 12 who are either orphaned or come from disintegrated or impoverished families. The society currently serves a total of 22 boys.