Japan delivers kitchen equipment to empower women working in Madaba

AMMAN — The kitchen equipment handover ceremony was held on Wednesday, in the presence of Okuyama Jiro, Ambassador of Japan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Arif Rawajeh, mayor of Greater Madaba, according to a statement for The Jordan Times.

In 2020, the Government of Japan provided a grant of US $90,183 to the Greater Madaba Municipality to provide equipment for a production kitchen under the Grant Assistance Programme for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).

This grant aims to empower women seeking work in Madaba by providing equipment to establish a “Madaba Production Kitchen”, where skills training and job opportunities are provided to women. The establishment of the “Madaba Production Kitchen” is part of the “Strategic Plan for Local Economic Development 2019-2021” prepared by the Greater Madaba Municipality. This project will enable women from the local community to gain economic independence and ultimately improve the unemployment rate in the region, the statement said.

In the speech delivered by the ambassador Okuyama during the handover ceremony, he expressed his appreciation to the Greater Madaba Municipality for its commitment to supporting local economic development and said: “We are aware that there is a scarcity of job opportunities for women in Madaba. To address this problem, the municipality has focused on promoting the advancement of women in the labour market.” In its regional development plan, it established the “Madaba Production Kitchen”. “We believe that your initiative will play a positive role in enhancing livelihoods in the region.”

Under the GGP, Japan has provided more than US$10 million to 159 projects for NGOs, schools, hospitals and municipalities in Jordan since 1993, according to the statement.