Education for Underprivileged Children (WFWP Jordan)
In 2000, WFWP Jordan opened up a WFWP training center for women in an area that is impoverished with high crime rates.
Due to the overwhelming success of the first center, WFWP Jordan opened a second center, this time to help underprivileged children. The hope for the second center was specifically to support children in their education, especially as the criminal activity in youth and children have been increasing.
The locations of the WFWP centers commonly experience violent crimes. Fights among adults break out constantly, whether that is due to revenge, bad relationships, or poverty. In many cases, fighting includes the use of knives, guns and sharp tools. It’s not uncommon to see even public bus drivers with these dangerous tools under their seats. The fighting sometimes turns into a murder case between husbands and wives, and even among families.
Why does Jordan have increasingly brutal crimes?
We believe it is a reason beyond just economical reasons, but the root of the issue is because people are unhappy. The foundation of our lives is built when we are young, and when children don’t have access to safe and enticing education, they are more likely to get involved in crime in the future.
WFWP Jordan believes the most important thing when it comes to learning is the experience of good-quality education. We wish to bring good-quality education by granting many great opportunities for children to learn.
So far, WFWP Jordan has 2 ongoing education projects for the youth.
The first is performing arts education. We regularly teach children acting skills, singing skills and expressive skills by preparing them to act in a drama. The children then perform their plays in front of an audience, including their mothers. What the children learn through drama is self-confidence through using their talents to bring others joy. During the performance, it’s amazing to see the audience’s eyes light up as they watch the drama unfold on stage. The children acting also have a great time performing and can focus their energy on something they truly enjoy. It gives children the confidence to know that they have the power to put a smile on someone else’s face.
The second project WFWP Jordan has organized is a cleaning campaign. Children volunteer their time to clean the streets of Jordan. The children who are often used to getting scolded by their neighbors for causing trouble, really change when they receive voices saying “Thank you.”
The children feel fulfilled when they learn how to serve people and be of great benefit to them. These are simple cleaning projects that don’t require much money but are invaluable experiences that aid in character education.
There are four issues with public schools in impoverished areas that we hope to address:
A crowded number of students in each class, two-thirds of the students are not able to follow the teaching curriculum.
Many male teachers have two jobs a day because their teaching salary is not enough to feed their families. This results in little time to help the students study and provide office hours.
Many families are not able to help their children study at home.
There are very few cultural events at school. Cultural events, including sports, are a very important curriculum for students because they are able to use their energy and excitement in a healthy way. Having an outlet to express themselves is a foundation to build good character. The more they have an outlet to release their creative and athletic energy, the more they can also find the motivation to study.
WFWP Jordan has been making an effort to provide better education for the students. The children’s future in Jordan will not be an easy one, as it is very difficult to find jobs (most opportunities are in hard labor jobs). Therefore, we believe it’s crucial to provide at least character education for these children. The performing arts and cleaning projects build a good foundation for character and no matter what hardships face in their future, they will be able to conquer the difficulties with a positive attitude. We sincerely ask for your support. Thank you very much.