UJ student’s initiative turns campus into home for feline friends

AMMAN — The Soqya Initiative at the University of Jordan aims to provide stray cats with food and water through a number of stations around the university.

Rofyda Abu Orabi, a first year student at the University of Jordan, started the Soqya Initiative to realise her passion for helping stray cats. 

“As we have a large garden in our home, I began caring for cats nearly five years ago. My family and I began by feeding three cats, but soon after, all the cats in our neighbourhood settled in our garden. Now we have over 25 cats and counting,” Abu Orabi told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

Abu Orabi created the Instagram page, “Nashama Cats”, to remember the cats they had, she said.

“Every cat we have means a lot to us. We not only provide food or water; we also give them medical care. They are part of our day-to-day life and it is devastating when we lose one,” she added.

Abu Orabi noted that the idea behind the Soqya Initiative came as a project for one of her university courses where the students had to implement a project instead of taking a midterm.  

Abu Orabi said that she wanted her initiative to be different and unique. “Since I love cats so much and there are many strays in university who are neglected, I thought that it would be a great idea. Therefore, I presented it to my group and my professor and got the approval,” she continued.

Abu Orabi and the other students bought five food and water stations and distributed them in different areas around university, where cats can access them.

“I am very happy with what we have done; knowing how difficult it is for cats to get access to food and water, especially in such hot weather is heartbreaking,” Abu Orabi said.

She also indicated that it is a great way to raise awareness of stray cats and encourage university students to leave food and water for cats.

“Caring for cats in our house was not easy at the beginning as many kids used to chase them and be aggressive towards them. After talking to the kids, they now tell us if they find a kitten that needs care,” Abu Orabi noted.