Children bake goodness away for vulnerable refugee women

AMMAN — Some 80 “little volunteers” aged from three to 12 years old last week took part in a solidarity cooking event aimed at helping to empower single women from the Hussein refugee camp.

“It had been a while since I was looking for a way to empower local vulnerable women through my initiative and, after finding out that a number of single mothers living in Hussein camp had no source of income to provide for their household, the idea of the cooking session started,” recalled Zeina Asfour, who founded Little Volunteers (LV) in 2014, out of the desire to engage her three-year-old daughter in a volunteering initiative suitable for young children.

Organised by LV in collaboration with Playground, Oui Chef and Prime Fresh Food, the activity saw the participation of over 80 children and their parents through two cooking sessions.

Danah Al Taji, whose kids have been with Little Volunteers for one and a half years, said: “It’s a great way to teach kids the values we want to raise them with and instill them in a practical way rather than by giving lectures. I truly noticed a change in my children in terms of empathy, selflessness and feeling with others.”

“Kids really get involved by themselves and know where the money they raise is going,” she said, noting that 12-year-old Awn and eight-year-old Jouri now take money out of their own savings to participate in events that “they never want to miss despite anything they have on their schedule”.

Though two cooking stations, overseen by 11-year-old chef Maya from Oui Chef, groups of children learned to bake pizzas while learning about the purpose of volunteering. 

“As they start making pizzas, kids learn about the aim of the activity, the importance of solidarity and financial independence for underprivileged communities,” Asfour told The Jordan Times, stressing the importance of interacting on the concept of volunteering with the young participants.

“I believe that children are extremely smart, and that they understand very well what volunteering is all about. I think they understand better than adults as they start discussing and exchanging among one another. Children are very passionate and genuine, which a key element in volunteering,” the mother of two said. 

Citing the examples of underprivileged neighbourhoods she has witnessed, seven-year-old participant Alma Dado said that she loved taking part in the fun activities as “it let her help other people who don’t have enough money to put their children in good schools, not really good houses and not enough food to feed their families”. 

The little volunteers then turned to the dessert station, where they baked cookies to be handed out to the event’s beneficiaries.

“At that station, the kids move on to the ‘giving part’ as they bake food that will be given to the women supported by the activity. With each batch of cookies they make, they include a personalised card for the recipient,” Asfour explained, highlighting that “this is where the true essence of giving comes in as children are asked to create a note where they can write or draw anything they want to say to support the person receiving their gift”.

“I was amazed by the kindness and generosity displayed in these cards, with messages reading ‘we love you’, ‘we support you’ which is really when the connection between the kids and the women is created. Through this direct link, the kids get to understand the aim of their action and this is for me the most important part,” she explained.

“Since my three children took part in their first cleaning and tree planting event with LV in 2015, they have gained self control and a sense of goodwill,” Maramawni Al Said told The Jordan Times, also adding “I believe that we should always teach our children to do good things not for the rewards whether verbal or material, but for themselves and for others.”

By partnering with local organisations which provided full sponsorship and cooking products for free, Asfour was able to direct all proceeds from the entrance fee to support three single mothers in developing a sustainable income making project.  

“We gathered data... on the situation of some of the women living in Hussein refugee camp and we chose three ladies whose status was deemed as ‘very vulnerable’. We carefully looked at the project these women could implement and provided them support to establish a long term initiative that will help them create a revenue for themselves and their families,” Asfour said.

“We do not want to just hand out money as charity, but rather help empower these women in becoming self sustainable, which is something we strive to explain to our kids,” she continued, noting that children are taught the importance of supporting their peers in a solidary rather than “money donating way”.