Jordan
Every child who comes to the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) center in Jordan brings their own unique gifts, personality, and life to our work. As much as we want to grow their potential in areas where they experience challenges, we also want to encourage their potential in the areas where they express joy and talent.
Imani first came to our center in 2018 as a young teenage girl with a hearing disability, with the goal of improving her speech. However, we soon discovered that she had a natural talent and love for art. Her notebook was filled with pencil sketches and coloured drawings. One of the Operation Mercy staff members also shares a love of art, and so from the beginning it was decided that they would have one session every couple of weeks to develop Imani’s skills in both drawing and painting. Over the months, Imani learned and practised mixing colours, as well as how to paint skies and other scenes from nature—often the two of them sitting side by side, painting together at the center.
Now, several years later, Imani is a student at the University of Jordan, studying art. Recently, she reached out to us, asking if there was something she could do at the center while on a break between semesters. In fact, we had yet to finish the murals on the outer walls of the center facing the village street. And so, once again, Imani and the CBR team member mixed colours together and painted. This time, though, they painted words—sharing colour and hopeful messages with the community.
For all of us, it was encouraging to see this quiet teen now turned into a confident and talkative university student. It was a reminder that as we walk through small steps of growth with our students, these small steps can lead to a more hopeful future for them.
Nutritional Diversity: From Farm to Table
There must be zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, corn, cabbage, and peppers.
Incorporating Technology with Traditional Farming Practices
A new generation of younger farmers, having access to the internet, are considering how to incorporate technology with traditional farming practices.
Schooling Requires Cooperation
Adnan loves school. His mother smiles with pride and says to the Operation Mercy team, “Every day he wants to go to school.” Naturally gifted with a friendly and bold personality,
Refugee Health Response
In our Community Health Project in Jordan, we are seeing lives transformed through health screening and education. We work in partnership with local organizations, medical professionals,
Surgery For Sarah
The kidney surgery was life saving for Sarah! She is now an active and smiley 1 year old, adored by her older siblings.
Saiid’s Smile
Saiid was beaming, a grin splitting his face from ear to ear. Not only was his house finished to the point that he and his family could start living in it,
A Flower and a Dinar
Ahmed holds dear the opportunity he has to illustrate to the participants their worth in the eyes of their Creator.
Each Child is Valuable
“I’ve learnt from you that each child is created by God and valuable, and I want to do my best to love and raise her like you would” she said
Contributing to the Community
Many unemployed men end up spending a lot of time at home doing nothing. Feeling isolated, they often have too much coffee and tobacco, too little exercise,
Investing in the Future
There are new sounds coming from the centre these days.
New Horizons
The view of the horizon from the CBR window is changing. As new life sprouts up and lurches forward around the CBR Center and throughout the villages,
Change Impacts Relationships and Community
This man speaks of the dynamic relational and inner life that develops when participants move through Keystone’s 3-to-6-month training.
Farming in the Jordan Valley
The biggest challenges facing agriculture today are climate change, soil degradation or excessive salinity in the soil, water scarcity, pests and diseases, and the need to ensure food security for a growing population.
Community Health Advocates’ Training
Izzy was one of seven young women who completed our 6 month CHA pilot program. We selected women who had few opportunities in life. Some hadn’t finished school.
Shoulder to Shoulder
“Before,” shares Hamza, “my relationships were limited. Now, in the project, my relationships grow and grow.”
A Savings Group Success Story
My name is Ghada, and I am a member of the Artery of Hope Savings Group.
Today, I would like to share a success story—an idea that started with the savings group and grew into a project to cultivate more than 60 dunams of land.
A Reason to Stay
Miriam came to our refugee medical clinic with a list of physical complaints—but as she sat down, it all came out at once.
“My children won’t eat.
Walking Through Challenges Together
“Everyone has faced different challenges in their lives,” Hamza says. “If one of us cannot walk through one of these challenges, a [fellow] participant can help him overcome this challenge.
Heart Surgery Saves Grandfather
In our Operation Mercy Community Health clinics in Jordan, we screen patients who need diagnostic tests and specialist follow up.
Joy Through Playing
After the earthquake in Morocco destroyed homes and buildings throughout the High Atlas Mountains and other regions, our partners assisted with relief efforts and then with rebuilding –