Initiative offers orphans academic, life skills

AMMAN — A simple question that an orphan boy could not answer four years ago pushed young volunteer Fatma Amin to launch an initiative offering education and life skills to orphans in the Kingdom.

“We were on a field trip with about 30 orphans as volunteers for the Jordan Volunteers organisation, when one of us noticed a phrase in English saying ‘I love Jordan’ on the child’s hand and asked him what it said,” Amin said. 

“Surprisingly enough, the seventh grader could not read those three words, so we thought it would be a good idea to provide academic support to those kids,” she told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

At present, the “Educating Orphans” initiative offers lessons to 18 children, with around 70 volunteers teaching them mathematics, Arabic and English, in addition to training them on life skills such as future planning.

The initiative, headquartered in Sweifieh, receives applications from orphan children, who then have to sit for exams to evaluate their academic levels and group them according to their performance.

A file is updated for each student on a continuous basis, and some are tutored individually, according to the initiative’s founder. 

“English is taught in an entertaining way,” Amin said. “Students shouldn’t be intimidated by the fact that they’re being introduced to another language [and] another culture.”

Getting rid of negative vibes and replacing them with positive energy is one of the aims of the initiative, out of the belief that “with positive energy comes creativity and productivity,” the 27-year-old volunteer added.

Musa, an 11-year-old beneficiary, said the extra maths lessons he has been receiving will help him pursue his dream.

“I have always received low grades in maths, but I want to be an architect when I grow up, so in the past months — thanks to the extra lessons here — I have been excelling and I got an 84 average in maths,” Musa added.

Volunteer Mohannad Abu Darwish, who teaches maths to 18 children, said he has been working with a 13-year-old named Mahdi, who had a negative attitude at first and was introverted.

“But with the assistance of the volunteers, Mahdi is now one of the most sociable children in the centre,” Abu Darwish said.

“When the child loves you, you feel like you made a difference and touched someone’s life; it’s the most wonderful feeling,” he added.

Children from various parts of the Kingdom benefit from the activities of “Educating Orphans”, according to Alia Horani, who teaches Arabic through the initiative. 

“They all come wanting to know more,” she said.

English teacher Haifa Abu Al Ata said working with the orphans enriches the volunteers’ lives. “Giving is the most beautiful thing you can ever do in your lifetime. Giving your time and effort to see them smile is just priceless.”