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Ammon News - Hartha- U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stuart E. Jones announced today an additional $20 million grant from the United States to assist local communities in the Northern Governorates to better address water scarcity, exacerbated by the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan.

The grant, announced in the attendance of Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and irrigation Basem Telfah, provides rapid assistance to countries facing fluid situations. This grant will support local communities address water ways to fix water scarcity challenges, including management and improving delivery by fixing community and potable water networks in northern Jordan.

Ambassador Jones highlighted the importance of the grant, saying, “The U.S. Government is standing behind the people of Jordan to help address community level water needs as a result of a system that is increasingly exacerbated in light of the recent crisis in Syria. These funds will help ensure the availability of the necessary water resources for the people of the northern governorates.” Secretary General Basem Telfah stressed “The need for ideal utilization of all water resources in Jordan, which suffers from a scarcity in water resources. This grant will help us achieve this goal.”

An important component of this project is the active community-based organizations’ engagement. The Ambassador and the Secretary General of Water toured the village of Hartha, located on the Syria border, and witnessed first-hand the ways the Hartha Charitable Society, , was able to impact the lives of hundreds of local families thanks to the assistance provided by this grant. They were able to see cisterns built to store water captured from rooftops for use during the drier, a filter system in a school designed to re-use water from hand-washing for agricultural purposes including a garden and olive trees.

Mr. Mahmoud Obeidat (Abu Tarek), Director of the Hartha Charitable Society, noted, “We are very proud of the important water management work we are doing here, and strongly believe the revolving nature of the loans we manage ourselves will mean more people can benefit from this work for a long time.”