Unity Peace Road (WFWP Jordan)
<Children of the World, Let’s Go Hand in Hand>
Written by: Fusayo Irikura
On August 18, WFWP Jordan hosted a “Unity Peace Road” Event in Amman, Sahab. This event was held under the patronage of the Provincial Governor of Sahab, Mr. Muhyiddin Al Aduwan and was also supported by the Ministry of Education.
The purpose of the event was to expose the youth to other youths and hopefully, help blossom new relationships. There were a total of 200 students participating from different backgrounds. This type of education in accepting others who are different from you and even finding strengths in the differences is something WFWP Jordan believes is important. As the world is aware, the Middle East is often on the brink of war and it is not a safe place for children to grow up. This region often faces many conflicts because they have difficulty accepting others who are not of the same religion, nationality, skin color or even economic status.
The need for an education curriculum in which our children are taught to respect and understand others is becoming more evident. Therefore, WFWP Jordan created this event “Unity Peace Road” which brings people together through a drama performance. The Governor, Mayor, Ministry of Education and the Principal of Kind Abdulla school were invited along with 200 students.
At first, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the government announced that no public in-person events were allowed to be held until the end of August, but miraculously, they approved this event. In addition, although it was originally agreed that only 100 students were able to attend the performance, later, the government allowed us to take in 100 more students. We feel extremely fortunate to have overcome these hurdles.
The children WFWP Jordan works with are from poor families who attend public schools that teach a bare minimum education curriculum. The schools they attend don’t hold cultural events and the students rarely receive artistic exposure. WFWP Jordan wanted to provide the youth with an opportunity that they don’t get at school.
Due to this lack of exposure, many youths grow into adulthood not knowing the value of learning different cultures and being inspired by the arts. These youths tend to have little hope or ambition, seeing the war-torn environment around them, and it’s very common for many to be involved in crimes in order to get by. We hope to change Jordan’s youth trajectory, by providing them experiences such as this one to help build positive character and teach the value of friendships.
The youth had an incredible experience at this event and we hope to host many more in the future.
