AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES: FY06 FUNDING

UNCLAS AMMAN 003729 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR PRM/ANE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL EAID KPAL JO SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES: FY06 FUNDING REQUEST FOR JORDAN REF: STATE 41367 ¶1. Embassy Amman received applications from six Jordanian organizations seeking to participate in this year's Ambassadors' Fund for Refugees initiative (reftel). The Ambassador requests USD 19,457 to help an UNRWA-affiliated volunteer community rehabilitation center in Talbieh camp, an informal (i.e., non-UN) Palestinian refugee camp established by the Jordanian Government 225-km south of Amman in 1968 to support Palestinian refugees displaced from Gaza, Hebron, Beer Sheba and Jericho, to purchase wheelchairs and prosthetic devices for disabled refugees. The project would fill a gap in existing health services. If the Department cannot fund this project, or if additional funds become available, post requests that the Department consider funding a proposal by the Al Nokhba Club for the Blind to create an audio lending library in Marka camp (aka Hiteen),UNRWA's second largest camp in Jordan. Project descriptions follow. PROJECT TO "MAINSTREAM" DISABLED REFUGEES IN TALBIEH CAMP -------------- -------------- ¶2. The Talbieh Community Rehabilitation Center -- based in an UNRWA refugee camp that the Government of Jordan established in 1968 to house Palestinian refugees displaced from Gaza, Hebron, Beer Sheba and Jericho -- is seeking USD 19,500 to support one of their existing programs that promotes the self-sufficiency of disabled refugees by subsidizing their purchase of wheelchairs, hearing aids and other prosthetic devices (refugees pay between 20-25% of the cost). The program targets disabled children to help "mainstream" them into the public and/or UNRWA school systems. In addition to serving Talbieh camp proper, which has a comparatively small population (871 persons),the Community Rehabilitation Center serves seven villages with Palestinian refugee populations in the Jeza District of Madaba Province. UNRWA reports that there are about 150 disabled refugees in this area. While UNRWA operates one primary health clinic in Talbieh, the agency's 2006-2007 budget for physical rehabilitation programs -- if fully funded -- would only enable UNRWA to provide 10,000 children with eyeglasses and hearing aids in all five of its operating fields. ¶3. The Talbieh Community Rehabilitation Center is an independent community-based organization with quasi-NGO status. It is governed by an elected administrative committee and receives technical assistance, including financial and management oversight, from UNRWA. It has established financial controls. ¶4. ESTIMATED BUDGET (in USD) USG CONTRIBUTION: 30 WHEELCHAIRS 8,475 22 HEARING AIDS 6,215 10 ARTIFICIAL LIMBS 4,767 TOTAL: 19,457 AUDIO LENDING LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND IN MARKA CAMP -------------- -------------- ¶5. The Al Nokhba Club for the Blind, a Jordanian NGO registered with the Ministry of Culture, currently organizes lectures and publishes a magazine for blind residents of Marka camp (AKA Hiteen),which houses 38,425 Palestinian refugees and is the third largest refugee camp in Jordan. The Al Nokhba Club is seeking USD 5,000 to help establish a computerized and audio lending library for its members. Al Nokhba is a new, volunteer organization with an elected President. It appears to have established financial controls and volunteer staff cable of overseeing the proposed new library in place but has no track record of grant management. ¶6. ESTIMATED BUDGET (in USD) USG CONTRIBUTION: THREE COMPUTERS WITH AUDIO OR BRAILLE OUTPUTS 4,500 ONE BRAILLE PRINTER 500 TOTAL: 5,000 Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ HALE