About Us - HelpAge Jordan

HelpAge International | Jordan

HelpAge International is committed to helping older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and overcome poverty.

Our vision: is a world in which all older people can lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

Our mission: is to promote the wellbeing and inclusion of older women and men, and reduce poverty and discrimination in later life.

HelpAge International in Jordan undertook its first project in Jordan and opened its Knowledge & Resource Hub in October 2017 in Amman.

The Knowledge & Resource Hub has opened its doors to older men and women, local and international organizations, CBOs, private sector, government, and members of the community to advocate for the inclusion of older men and women in all programs, activities, and initiatives, and leave no one behind.

Our projects:

Leaving No One Behind - Minimising the impact of displacement, vulnerabilities and poverty on older men and women affected by the Syrian Refugee Crisis through the support of age inclusive resilience and integration initiatives (2017-2019)

The purpose of this project is to inform and influence local and international humanitarian actors, key Government stakeholders and members of the private sector and local community to include older men and women in their planning, initiatives, programs, and strive for an age-inclusive environment.

The Knowledge & Resource Hub developed a "Helping Older People in Emergencies" (H.O.P.E) Training Manual which serves as a tool for staff of International and Local Agencies as well as government and private sector in order to include older people in humanitarian response. The Knowledge & Resource Hub conducted Training of Trainer's Program for staff of International and Local NGO's as well as various government sectors. Over 600 staff have been trained from over 75 agencies. To further expand the reach into hard to reach areas, these modules were digitized and are available on our training platform in English and Arabic ( https://training.helpagejordan.org/ )

Addressing the data gap in Jordan, we at HelpAge International conducted several pieces of research that directly target older men and women (60+) from the Jordanian community as well as the Syrian Refugee Community. Additionally, through this program 4 sub-grants were provided to local, national and international organization and private sector organizations to encourage the inclusion of older people by piloting or mainstreaming age inclusive livelihood activities. All partners received tailored technical support on the inclusion of older men in their humanitarian interventions.

Leaving No One Behind: Phase II “Improving the inclusion of older men and women with and without disabilities from SYR and JOR into humanitarian response with a focus on health and protection.” (2019- 2021)

This project builds on the previous project which built the foundation of age and disability inclusive humanitarian response to the Syria crisis in Jordan and the region. In this new project – Phase 2 – it is envisioned to continuously improve the inclusion of most vulnerable groups into humanitarian response by

Continued inclusion capacity building to humanitarian actors from (I)NGOs, government and private sector agencies with a more specialized focus on protection, health and care
Continued provision of technical support to local organizations by piloting humanitarian inclusion standards.
Establishing safe spaces / age and disability friendly spaces (community centres) in various governorates through local actors using HelpAge (as a model).
Developing a program of psycho-social activities for OP/PWD groups in order to address the needs identified in previous needs assessments.
Active advocacy work with a health and protection focus within the humanitarian sector in Jordan as well as with older men and women in order for them to become self-advocates.
Increased advocacy work with the government on protection related laws to older men and women

The increased demand for health services due to the rapid population growth, shift in disease pattern, high incidence of non-communicable diseases and demographic change, requires concerted efforts and strengthened cooperation and coordination among concerned parties at the regional and national level. Therefore, in this new phase of the project, a greater focus will be put on the health sector as well as on protection.

Furthermore, the project: “Improving the inclusion of older men and women with and without disabilities from SYR and JOR into humanitarian response with a focus on health and protection, in which the Knowledge & Resource Hub will develop a specialized Modular Training Program on age inclusive humanitarian interventions for agencies active in Jordan and to develop and conduct a training of trainers (TOT) for 12 humanitarian actors on all 5 modules of the training program.

Municipal Businesses Project (MUBU) (2019- 2021)

The project aims to improve social-economic prospects for refugees and host communities in six municipalities in Jordan through holistic interventions focusing on protection and support by developing locally appropriate businesses.

The project will be implemented by Finn Church Aid (FCA) and HelpAge International (HAI) in cooperation with six Local Development Units (LDUs) of six municipalities in different governorates in Jordan (Dhlail in Zarqa governorate, Sahab in Amman governorate, Mahis in Salt governorate, Khalid Abn Alwaleed in Irbid governorate, Alza’tari & Almansheah in Mafraq governorate, Jnaid in Ajloun governorate). This will help to localize the support and link the project to the decentralization agenda of the government, ensuring sustainability and utilizing local resources.

The project will specifically focus on self-employment (entrepreneurship) of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations with special attention to youth, women, people with disabilities and household heads with older or disabled members of the household.

In vulnerable families, income is needed to support family members with special needs. By linking livelihood interventions to the protection of and social and health services to these vulnerable groups, we will seek to reduce the burden on young members of the family, thus providing for a more integrated and sustainable response. The project will directly support development of 240 businesses, creating over 400 new jobs in total, thus supporting over 2,240 household members that will also benefit from social and health services. The project builds on the tested model used in RDPP project that succeeded in creating sustainable enterprises for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Strengthening COVID Emergency response with distribution and protection/ prevention services in humanitarian settings for older men and women with and without disabilities in Jordan (2020)

The main goal of this project is to protect, assist, and advocate for older men and women with and without disabilities, both from the refugee and host community during the COVID-19 global crisis in Amman, Zarqaa , Mafraq & Tafileh Governorates (50% Jordanians – 50% Refugees) .

This Project was Funded by the Jordan Humanitarian Fund- (UNOCHA) (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

The main objective of this project revolved around protecting and ensuring access to critical information through remote protection messaging and an “electronic” campaign for older men and women with and without disabilities (60+ from refugee and host community) for 9 weeks long through the phone and during the quarantine which highly contributed to decrease older peoples feeling with depression and threat through our volunteers protection messages calls . For the purpose of sustainability and increasing awareness of older men and women, local volunteers (from each specific target area) were recruited and trained to communicate with older persons on a weekly basis and provide key protection messages developed by our global technical team. These volunteers reached 2000 older men and women across four governorates on a weekly basis over the weekly phone calls and according to the referral system requirements to each case to be transferred to the suitable source of support “Specialized Organizations-Institutions” , beside emergency response conducted activities for basic needs (Cash Distribution and Hygiene Kits distribution ) to the most vulnerable older men and women with or without disabilities as we gave priority to the older people with sever medication cases, People with disabilities and other older people who have daily labours who were impacted with this pandemic .

Another component of this project included the distribution of 2640 hygiene kits with the support of our partner, Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO). This aims to ensure prevention mechanism for the most vulnerable. This project also included distribution of emergency cash assistance to 421 most vulnerable older men and women in the four governorates as 50% Jordanians and 50% Refugees.

Lastly, through this project, HelpAge was able to collect recent information/statistics on the needs of older men and women through a Rapid Needs Assessment. The results of this assessment were shared with the working groups and key stakeholders to ensure that older men and women are not left behind.

HelpAge International Jordan received two letters of appreciation for the emergency response provided during COVID-19in Jordan. The first letter is from the Prime Minister and second letter is provided by the General Secretary.

Enhancing an emergency and COVID19 response to the most vulnerable groups of older men and women with and without disabilities through providing essential humanitarian assistance and protection through prevention and response activities in emergency settings in Jordan (2021)

The main goal of this project is to mitigate and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable and marginalized older men and women among refugees and host communities and to increase the protection of older persons with and without disabilities, both from the refugee and host community in the targeted four governorates Amman, Zarqaa , Mafraq & Irbid , (50% Jordanians – 50% Refugees) .

This Project is Funded by the Jordan Humanitarian Fund-JHF/UN-OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

The project will provide cash assistance to support 734 of the most vulnerable older people (70% of older women) and their family members in meeting their basic needs, in particular food, medication for chronic disease as well as heating costs for the winter months. Through cash assistance, the project will help mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. Protection will be mainstreamed throughout the project implementation to ensure safe and meaningful access to cash for older people, while preserving their dignity. In addition, the project will put a special focus on PSEA and age and gender-based violence; it will ensure that all staff and volunteers involved in the project and members of target communities are aware of PSEA and age and gender-based violence, as well as safeguarding concerns, and how reports can be made safely. At least 50 staff and volunteers will be trained on PSEA and safeguarding. 1000 community members, including 734 older men and women (70% of women), will receive direct information related to PSEA, age and gender-based violence, and safeguarding. HelpAge will promote the use of the referral mechanism for survivors of SEA and age and gender-based violence. All components of the project will adhere to the humanitarian principles and the core humanitarian standards.