COMPLETION OF FY02 PRM AMBASSADOR'S FUND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005567

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR PRM/ANE and NEA/ARN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL EAID KPAL JO
SUBJECT: COMPLETION OF FY02 PRM AMBASSADOR'S FUND
PROJECTS IN JORDAN

Ref: 02 STATE 15910


1. SUMMARY: POST'S TWO PROJECTS FUNDED IN FY02 UNDER
PRM'S AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
WERE COMPLETED BY JULY 2003. THE TWO PROJECTS - PURCHASE
OF A MINIBUS FOR THE COMMUNITY REHABILITATION CENTER AT
BAQA'A CAMP AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN ADDITION TO THE
WOMEN'S PROGRAM CENTER (WPC) AT JEBEL HUSSEIN CAMP -
RESPONDED TO CRITICAL, LOW-COST GAPS IN REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE IN JORDAN AND GENERATED GOOD PUBLICITY FOR THE
EMBASSY. AMBASSADOR GHNEM INAUGURATED THE JEBEL HUSSEIN
WPC ADDITION IN A JULY 7 CEREMONY. THE EMBASSY RECEIVED
INTERIM ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL REPORTS PER THE
GRANT AGREEMENTS AND WE ARE SATISFIED WITH THE PROJECTS'
MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT BY THE LOCAL GRANTEES. END
SUMMARY.

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A Bus for Disabled Children in Baqa'a Refugee Camp
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2. The Embassy funded the purchase of a 14-passenger
minibus for the Community Rehabilitation Center (CRC) at
Baqa'a refugee camp. The CRC purchased the bus in
November 2002 and has used it efficiently since then as a
multi-purpose vehicle. As of August 31, CRC staff and
therapists had used the bus to conduct a total of 381
visits to three hundred disabled children at their homes.
CRC staff also used the bus for one hundred and fifty
field visits and meetings. The bus enabled CRC staff to
bring eighteen children to attend social activities at
the center and 45 to summer camp activities in August.
Families of the disabled children were particularly
pleased to be able to receive CRC staff at their homes.


3. The CRC governing committee and staff worked as a
team and cooperatively managed the project. CRC was in
continuous contact with the RefCoord office, UNRWA and
the Department of Palestinian Affairs to facilitate the
purchase of the bus. CRC submitted detailed interim
financial and administrative reports in April per the
grant agreement. The CRC has sufficient funds to cover
the annual maintenance costs of the bus and will
therefore continue to use it as a multipurpose vehicle,
including reaching the disabled children in their homes
and bringing them to the center.

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More Room and Programming at the Women's Center
In Jebel Hussein Camp
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4. The embassy provided $20,000 to construct a one-room
(107 square meters) addition to the Women's Program
Center (WPC) at Jebel Hussein camp. The room is used as
a fitness center, allowing the WPC to expand its popular
hair-dressing training program and beauty salon, reaching
an additional 100 trainees per month and generating more
income for the center. The external construction was
completed in February 2003 and the internal finishing was
completed on May 30. The construction schedule was
delayed by three weeks due to war-related increases in
material costs but WPC eventually managed to obtain lower
priced materials. Jebel Hussein WPC contributed USD 5600
of its own funds to finish and paint the addition and
purchase equipment for the fitness center. Ambassador
Ghnem inaugurated the new addition on July 7, generating
favorable coverage in the local press.


5. This project is contributing to the WPC's overall
financial sustainability, due to the growing popularity
of fitness programs in Jebel Hussein camp. The extra
space provided by the project also enabled the center to
introduce more courses including evening fitness
training, computer skills, international computer
driver's license (ICDL) and internet training. More women
and young girls are now coming from other refugee
neighborhoods to participate in the center's training
courses.


6. The WPC governing committee and staff worked as a
team and cooperatively managed the project. WPC was in
continuous contact with the RefCoord office and UNRWA for
mutual consultation and cooperation whenever necessary.
WPC also submitted detailed interim financial and
administrative reports on time per the grant agreement.

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