Amman, Jordan, 30 September 2022 - During their official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Islamic Development Bank President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, and Founder of the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education, H.E. Mr. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, visited the Makani center in the country, run by UNICEF.

The project which is implemented in a number of Arab countries works to provide a safe, interactive space that provides a comprehensive service for children, adolescents, and youth, as well as their caregivers.

The project is supported by the Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children (GMPFC), which was established as a joint initiative between the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), in addition to generous funding from the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund.

At the Makani Center, the delegation received a detailed briefing on the center's programs, activities, and effective role in achieving socioeconomic development. The children of the center presented various presentations of their works and activities, which included art, music, sports, and other educational activities.

Makani is an integrated program that links interventions in education, child protection, adolescent and youth engagement, and participation. The Makani program provides comprehensive services to marginalized and vulnerable children and adolescents aged 0-18 years. In addition to supporting vulnerable young women and men (aged 18 to 24 years) with access to accredited market-oriented technical and vocational education and training (TVET) opportunities, and social entrepreneurship opportunities, through the provision of scholarships.

Within the support of the Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children (GMPFC), the program achieved remarkable results, including the enrollment of more than 4,510 adolescents in Learning Support Services; 4,119 adolescents for skills building trainings focusing on life skills, financial literacy, innovation, and digital literacy skills. In the meantime, under GMPFC, 9,152 adolescents were reached with community-based child protection (CBCP) activities and 1,600 beneficiaries received cash transfers to support retention in school. In addition, accredited market-driven technical and vocational skills training was provided to 185 young people at Luminus Technical University College.

The delegation then visited the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair School of Advanced Computing at Luminus Technical University College (LTUC), a leading school that provides teaching and training material with industry-relevant content in diverse advanced computing areas such as software development, cyber security, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. Students at LTUC are taught skills for life through demand-driven technical training that improves their access to employment opportunities.

They also visited different sections of the college and spoke with a number of students and graduates and visited the automotive technology school and met with a number of students who spoke about the college's role in developing and enhancing their skills and preparing them for the labor market.