Refugee Utility Project (RUP) Awarded Grant

RUP has been awarded a $20,000.00 grant. Founded in August of 2015, RUP’s overarching goal is to empower people from host
communities and refugees. RUP feels it is important that people who do not normally get to express their
views are given an arena to effect change. RUP focuses on working with low-income Jordanians, refugee
women, and children.
RUP seeks to address these issues through the creation of a Community Centre in the city of Zarqa.
Approximately 48,000 refugees are located in Zarqa, which is one of the most densely populated refugee
areas in Jordan.
The centre will look to give educational support, while teaching employable skills to the individuals who visit.
A particular emphasis will be around educational opportunities for women and children. The centre will be
open to all individuals and will look to create a space for these underserved communities to come together,
understand each other, and learn new skills. Additionally, the centre aims to facilitate a dialogue between the
groups to prevent radicalization and the use of negative coping mechanisms. For women in particular, the
centre will provide literacy classes and child-rearing classes, which will focus on nutrition and new-born
children.
The centre will be run by local staff and volunteers, primarily drawn from Zarqa. RUP is determined to help
Syrian and Jordanian refugees gain experience and learn new skills. The goal is to take these skills and use
them to help their families and other community members, which is turn will make a sustainable difference
for these community.