Japan donates kitchen equipment to Circassian Charity Association

AMMAN — Japan on Thursday handed over kitchen equipment to the Circassian Charity Association’s (CCA) women’s branch in Amman, according to a Japanese embassy statement.

The handover ceremony was held at Samawer Restaurant and Kitchen operated by the CCA in the presence of Japan’s Ambassador to Jordan Shimazaki Kaoru and Ibrahim Varouqa, the president of the association.

In 2019, Japan extended to the CAA a grant in total of $60,779 for the implementation of the project titled “Renewal of Kitchen Equipment to Support Income Generation for Women from Low Income Families” through the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects called GGP which aims to improve basic human needs at the grass-roots level through NGOs and local governments, the statement said.

This grant assistance aims to provide more job training and working opportunities mainly for the women from low-income families through the renewal of kitchen equipment at “Samawer” kitchen.  

Since its establishment in 1971, the CCA has worked towards empowering Jordanian women by providing them with access to employment opportunities.  Through the development of CCA’s activities, “Samawer” kitchen was established in 1998 and initially offered employment to four low-income women by providing only catering services. 

It has substantially grown through the support of the Japanese embassy and now provides well-organised restaurant services for citizens in Amman. With the new kitchen equipment provided by this project funded by Japan, more job training and working opportunities will be provided in the kitchen.

In the speech delivered during the handover ceremony the ambassador said: “The pandemic of COVID-19 has caused a wide range of impacts on all aspects of Jordan’s society, but I definitely believe that women in low-income families are one of the most heavily affected groups by the pandemic and they are in great need of help now. We do hope that the equipment provided through this project will be effectively and continuously utilised by the CCA and the ‘Samawer’ kitchen continues to play an active role in this tough time, in order to support the people in need.”

Under Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects, Japan has extended more than $10 million for 149 projects to NGOs, schools, hospitals and local governments in Jordan since 1993, concluded the statement.