Queen Rania checks on disadvantaged villages in Central Jordan Valley

20 نيسان 2005

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department- Amman)  Although only 80 kilometers from the capital, Fannoush and Al Arda villages in the Central Jordan Valley are not very common to all. Residents were therefore delighted to find Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah visiting them on Tuesday. During the visit to the Central Jordan Valley’s villages in Deir Alla District, Queen Rania met residents and heard their concerns, checked on income generating projects, and dropped in at a school and public park in the area. The visit started off at Fannoush Elementary Public School where facilities for 1st –4th grade students badly need improvement. Queen Rania toured classrooms and chatted with students and teachers, underlining the importance of providing students with the proper environment that leads to quality education. The Queen checked on the school’s needs of maintenance work to the building and classrooms and was assured by officials that the schoolchildren would join the new comprehensive high school premises at the beginning of the new scholastic year. Like other villages in different parts of the country, some basic services in need of improvement were highlighted and put forward when Queen Rania visited citizens’ homes in Fannoush and had a first hand look at their living conditions. The Queen urged that maintenance to homes be carried out and that a survey be undertaken so that families who have disabled children, be provided with specialized care. At Al Arda village, Queen Rania called on the Jordan Valley Women’s Voluntary Society (JVWVS) where she was given an overview of the society’s activities and met with members from the local community. Touring the society’s productive kitchen, which is the only one in the district, JVWVS board members briefed Queen Rania on services provided in terms of training women and providing them with skills and jobs to improve their families’ income. Established in 1985, JVWVS aims to promote women’s role in their society by raising social awareness, providing training and jobs through projects like the productive kitchen, preserving national heritage by handicrafts like traditional embroidery, and even offering the local community the services of a kindergarten. Queen Rania instructed that the society be provided with computers and sewing machines to further enhance their facilities. Before heading back to Amman, Queen Rania visited Muthalath Al Arda’s public park and library, which will soon be equipped with computers, books and outdoor children’s recreational games. She also urged that the new health clinic, construction of which was completed 6 months ago, be outfitted with all necessary personnel and equipment. Tuesday’s visit to villages in the Southern Jordan Valley is part of efforts undertaken by Queen Rania to reach out to citizens and address their needs through fields visits that aim to improve living conditions of all Jordanians. The comprehensive approach underlines the need to further income-generating projects while checking on educational and medical facilities and aiding in their improvement.