Still in Amman

            Some of you might be wandering what I’m still doing in Jordan. Well, to answer your question… This summer I have decided to stay in Amman for an Internship with Action Aid’s Global Platform; a Human Rights NGO.  What Action Aid does is target the poor and young to empower them as activists to stand up for their Human Rights. It provides people with the training they need to voice their needs and believes youth should have the power to mobilize social movements. In doing this, the purpose is to empower the people in holding the government accountable as duty-bearers.

            A couple of areas at Action Aid include the Emergency Response Team and the Global Platform. The Emergency Response team is working with refugees in Jordan, specifically Zaatri camp and Zarqa camp near Amman. They are working on a few projects to help tensions between local Jordanians and Syrian refugees along with other projects pertaining to education for the children in the camps. Action Aid’s Global Platform works as the training hub for empowerment in Action Aid. Jordan’s Global Platform trains those working in other areas of Action Aid as well as youth across the Middle East and North Africa for Human Rights activism.

            I have been hired on as a Communication Assistant and am working on documenting their 4-week “Campaign for Change” training among writing weekly personal stories, a monthly communiqué and articles pertaining to the organization. Since joining, I have been assigned quite an amount of work but I am very excited for this experience. In a couple of weeks I have already learned so much about the situation in Syria and other Middle Eastern social movements.

            To learn more about ActionAid and what they do, visit www.globalplatforms.org. You can also find us on facebook by searching “Global Platform Jordan”.