Ammon News - Royal Court Chief, head of the committee to follow up on the implementation of royal initiatives, Yousef Issawi, led a ceremony to launch the Royal Initiative for empowerment of underprivileged and low-income families in the Aqaba governorate and Wadi Araba.

The initiative is to improve the standard of living and income of poor families and those with limited incomes through providing the necessary financial and technical support and feasibility studies to establish and manage small-sized enterprises and follow up on them to ensure their success, with emphasis on the women and youth sectors, as well as building the capacities of local partner agencies involved in the initiative.

During the virtual ceremony at the Royal Court, agreements were signed between the Jordan River Foundation, as the body overseeing the implementation of the initiative, and 16 societies in Aqaba and Wadi Araba, which were selected according to the principles and criteria in place.

The initiative targets about 213 families in Aqaba governorate, and about 30 families in Wadi Araba through launching 243 small enterprises, where beneficiary societies will refinance other enterprises for new families according to the revolving fund mechanism and reuse the grant to finance these projects, in a manner to expand the segment of beneficiary families who are willing to set up small income-generating projects.

"The COVID-19 pandemic challenge did not dissuade us from continuing to implement royal initiatives, including the one to empower impoverished and low-income families in Aqaba and Wadi Araba, under the direct guidance of His Majesty King Abdullah II," Issawi said during the ceremony.

He said that the King places as a top priority securing a decent life for all Jordanians, particularly groups living under tough economic conditions, meet their needs and empower them socially and economically.

The Royal Court Chief said the aid should be directed to developing local communities and stimulating and orienting them to make the desired positive difference, while promoting the culture of self-reliance.

For his part, Minister of Social Development Ayman Mufleh said that the initiative underscores the importance of self-employment programmes that help to enhance productivity and generate jobs for youth and job-seekers, pledging that his ministry will offer the necessary facilities and support to charities as the main partner and development arm.