Queen Rania Inaugurates JRF's 12th Annual Handicrafts Exhibition

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Amman) Once a year the women of the Al Karama, Bani Hamida and Wadi al Ryan projects come together to exhibit their exquisite creations at Jordan River Foundation's Annual Handicrafts Exhibition. Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah visited the project beneficiaries at the opening of this year's exhibition, titled "Jordanian Summer Fair," to tour the unique displays set up by the foundation.

The aim of the exhibition is to support the project beneficiaries by showcasing their creative work. The Income-Generating Handicraft Projects fall under the auspices of the Community Empowerment Program (CEP), exemplifying JRF’s commitment to sustainable human development through empowering communities especially women to participate in their own economic opportunities and improving their livelihoods. Over 2000 families have directly benefited from these income generating projects alone since their inception.

JRF provides design, quality control, and marketing services in addition to the raw material needed in an effort to support the communities. The annual exhibition is a highly visible event that tours the world to market and sustain the projects and provide income for the beneficiaries and their families.

The showroom design was based upon the journey of the white camel that gets lost and wanders around a magical land to learn about the beauty of the earth and the precious value of family and friends.

The three day exhibition will include activities geared towards both adults and children. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy puppet shows. Children will also be able to enjoy a reading by a story teller, face painting and henna tattoos and a host of other activities.

Throughout the showroom, there will be a display of various decorative Wadi Al-Rayan baskets made of cattail reeds and banana leaves, the indigenous materials of this area. An intricate wall hanging with designs of Petra will also be featured at eth exhibition as a testament to all the attention Petra is receiving on an international scale.

Participation, innovation, and sustainability continue to be the underlying dynamics of the Bani Hamida, Wadi Al Rayan, and Jordan River designs projects in which beneficiaries and local communities are regularly receiving capacity building and trainings on topics that include project management, accounting, book keeping, and feasibility studies.

The handicraft projects constitute the cornerstone of the developmental efforts and initiatives of the foundation, which was established by Queen Rania in 1995. Since then, the foundation has grown tremendously and operates through two main programs: the Jordan River Children Program and the Community Empowerment Program and cover all twelve governorates in Jordan.

The Jordan River Foundation (JRF), established in 1995 and chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania, is a non-profit Jordanian non-governmental organization (NGO), which aims to empower society, especially women and children, thus improving their quality of life.