Amman, Jordan
“Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might have baked it or bought or even kneaded it yourself. For that look on his face, for your meeting his eyes across a piece of bread, you might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.”
Daniel Berrigan
The Need
Their safety and future threatened, almost one million Iraqi citizens fled to Amman, Jordan. A small country with limited resources for education and employment, the Jordanian government is not able to support the vast number of people who are seeking refuge. For many families, it was leaving behind affluence and financial security to suddenly be without a home, access to education, job opportunities, basic rights, and even the means to put a nutritious meal on the table. Rates of depression, alcoholism, and domestic violence among refugee families dramatically increased. Basic living needs abound, as well as the opportunity to find stability and hope.
The Opportunity
A local church in Amman is committed to extend support to refugee families. Providing a monthly food coupon to each family, the church aims to help care for some of the basic needs for food and toiletries while respecting their individual preferences. Rather than a box of pre-selected items, each family receives a coupon for the equivalent of $30 USD. The church has established an agreement with a local store that accepts the coupon as payment for approved goods. To preserve the integrity of the program and allocate the funding to legitimate needs for hunger and hygiene, certain items are exempt for purchase. Each coupon is accepted currency for a large variety of items to include desirable commodities like tuna, powdered milk, processed cheese, soap, detergent, tea, rice, and sugar.
In addition to food provision, the church seeks to provide a support system for each of these families. They provide a community, friendship and counseling to address the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of women and children who have endured significant loss and face a future that remains uncertain.
The Challenge
Since 2008, Wellspring International has provided an annual grant of $36,000 USD to provide a food coupon each month to 100 refugee families. Through this program, Wellspring is able to provide items of nutrition and hygiene for over 740 families each year.
In the year ahead, Wellspring aims to continue contributing to this program with an annual grant of $36,000 USD.
Please contact us for more information concerning this significant project.