Queen Rania Visits Local Community Organizations in Madaba

October 31, 2001

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - AMMAN) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah visited local community organizations in the Governorate of Madaba, and was briefed on various development efforts that go hand-in-hand with her initiatives meeting the needs and aspirations of the Jordanian citizen.

The Queen's first stop was the Madaba Secondary School for Girls, where she inspected its recently-built computer laboratory.

The laboratory, containing 41 fully-equipped computers connected to the Internet and set up to cater to the needs of the school and local community, comes as part of the Queen Rania Project to Computerize Education.

This project also involves training students on computer usage, and promotes the exchange of educational experiences between teachers and students through a future network that will connect all schools in the Kingdom, thus allowing its users to freely and easily interact with one another.

The school's headmistress, Misbah Al-Majali, welcomed the establishment of the laboratory as a qualitative addition to the community services offered by the school, adding that it also facilitates the training of students, through various classes, in using computer programs.

This, as well as holding training sessions for local community members, demonstrates the Queen's overall support of national IT initiatives and stems from her ongoing encouragement of local community development efforts in the Kingdom's 12 governorates, Al-Majali added.

Queen Rania also visited the school's Hashemite Hall, the Chemistry laboratory, and the Arts and Handicrafts Hall, and chatted with students and teachers about the school's role and its various activities contributing to local community development.

One student, Wijdan Fuqahaa, spoke about the values of computers in education, stating: "Computers help students know about the latest innovations, communicate with their peers in different societies, and convey the true image of Arabs and Islam."

Queen Rania's tour of the Governorate also included a visit to the Women's Vocational Training Center in the village of Jaloul, where she was briefed on its local activities, as well as its training sessions in the fields of home and industrial embroidery, beautification, the use and maintenance of personal computers, and pastry-making.

 The Queen was also briefed by the Minister of Labor, Muzahim Muhaisin, on the Center's training courses that meet local market needs.

Such training courses come in line with His Majesty King Abdullah's directives, which highlight the importance of training and the acquisition of skills that meet job market requirements.

Queen Rania's support for women in all fields serves as a big impetus for activating the role of grassroots organizations in promoting development services in the Kingdom under the Hashemite leadership, added the Center's Director Ruba Dalahmeh.