Inspiration in Action

Volunteer Stories:

A voice for development: Jordan"s poor speak out"s Takalam 

Amman, Jordan, 19 May 2010: Takalam. Arabic for "Speak Out", Takalam is a UNV project to empower the poor through radio.

The Ghoreyiah/Zarqa region suffers from high population density, environmental problems, unemployment, extreme poverty and many other obstacles. The Takalam project will encourage civic participation in local development by encouraging people to speak out about their challenges. Their voices will be heard on Farah Al-Nas Radio Station.

The local community has already showed willingness to contribute to the region by joining Community Development Committees (CDCs). There will be four committees covering four themes: children, women, youth and people with disabilities. Members were selected from the local population for their enthusiasm for change. They will attend training workshops on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and radio message skills.

In May 2010, each committee will articulate the main challenges they face, through radio messages which will be broadcasted on Farah Al-Nas Radio Station. In addition, there will be dialogues between the peoples" committees, local authorities and civil society organizations to gain better understanding of these challenges. This insight will help develop plans to achieve the MDGs, in particular reducing poverty.

In parallel, these local organizations will attend a workshop on the participatory approach in order to work hand-in-hand with the people. Based on these workshops, an in-kind contribution grant will be awarded to the most efficient concept note designed by these local authorities.

By speaking out in this way, people in Ghoreyiah will gain a spark of hope for change.

This project is funded by the UNV Japanese Trust Fund in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC). It will be implemented by the Princess Basma Youth Resource Center (PBYRC) under the umbrella of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Development (JOHUD).

Volunteering at UNIFEM"s e-Village
 

Lib and Mleih, Jordan: Jordanian women are empowering each other via a unique Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project, driven largely by national UNV volunteers.
 

The villages of Lib and Mleih near Amman are piloting the e-Village Project" involving a number of sub-programmes involving the latest technology. The e-Village activities are designed to improve the lives of women, prioritizing those with low income and those who would not normally be able to access these types of services.
UNV Jordan"s Programme Officer Hyeran Kim said: "The main purpose of the project is to establish a vibrant and economically independent rural community where ICT is deployed to achieve a better quality of life for all its citizens - particularly women and girls."
 

Within the e-Village project is a volunteerism programme which has the objective of involving the local community in their own development. UNV is also involved in the e-Village"s information and awareness programme.

After more than three years of service, eight Jordanian national UNV volunteers recently completed their assignments. "The UNV volunteers have been the main driving sources for the e-Village project from the beginning and the end of its project phases," remarked Ms Kim. As the main coordinators of the project, the UNV volunteers have been instrumental in promoting volunteerism within the target villages and mobilizing local volunteers to help run the project. Each UNV volunteer was also in charge of implementing one component of the project: for example, income-generating training, IT training, youth clubs, film clubs and so on.

Shoa’a Al Tawalbeh has been involved with the e-Village since 2004, and from 2007 as a UNV volunteer she acted as the Intel Computer Clubhouse Coordinator and Lego Robotics Coordinator. She coordinated and managed all activities there, designing skills workshops for youth and teachers alike. Her assignment even took her to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend a "teen summit" with three of the clubhouse members.
Ms. Al Tawalbeh lists one of her achievements as opening a programme for volunteers from the local community to help out at the Intel Clubhouse.
 

Community volunteers have made a great contribution to the project by identifying the specific needs of the target villages, and then putting together visual materials such as video clips. These are then used as awareness-raising tools to advocate the necessity of intervention.
 

"My aim was to forge links between the work of women"s organizations and with programmes focused on youth and development," Ms Al Tawalbeh said. "I wanted the Intel club in the e-Village to be sustainable, and to grow with its members and volunteers. Our aim when we started was to develop our communities and then work more and more to reach the summit."
 

With its special emphasis on women, the project is implemented by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) as part of its partnership with the Jordanian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. Corporate partners include Cisco, Intel, Lego and Microsoft and the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


UNV volunteer Shoa’a Al Tawalbeh (right) lists one of her achievements as opening a programme for volunteers from the local community to help out at the Intel Clubhouse in Jordan"s e-Village.

(UNV)UNV volunteer Shoa’a Al Tawalbeh (left) was involved with Jordan"s e-Village since 2004, and from 2007 as a UNV volunteer she acted as the Intel Computer Clubhouse Coordinator and Lego Robotics Coordinator. (UNV)

Videos Clips

1. Inspiration in Action features UNV volunteers helping increase the ability to deal with disaster prevention and recovery, and providing electoral support in Timor. Their actions cause ripples of change in communities, inspiring local volunteers to make a difference.  This documentary presents the motivations, aspirations, experiences and challenges of UNV volunteers, and demonstrates the impact of their contributions.
   Inspiration in Action - UNV Video 2008.
    
2. Volunteerism for Development (UNV National Volunteers working with UNIFEM’s e-Village).