| Visiting Community Center |
| 24Aug
I went with two members of the Collateral Repair Project (CRP) team (with whom I'm volunteering), to visit a thriving community center here in Amman. The center's story is exciting: begun in 1977 by Dr. Nasser, a sociology professor at University of Jordan, who inspired his students to go into the community, find out what it needed, analyze their findings, and propose solutions. The result was this handsome two-story structure that is an integral part of its community. Their programs, their staff, and their facility are all high quality. Perhaps the most exciting part of the story is that the community was initially skeptical, even antagonistic. But as they saw the dedicated work of the student volunteers, they began pitching in, and were a tremendous help. |
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| The entrance |
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| Enas (a volunteer) Firyal (center director) Manal (CRP) Mary (CRP) |
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| Student art: "Wounded Iraq" |
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| Student art: Flags of Iraq and Jordan, with palm tree symbolizing their commonality |
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| A course for women |
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| A very lively gathering of several dozen women engaged in craft work, proudly displayed for my camera |
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| Hanan, an enthusiastic craftsperson |
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| Another course for women |
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| Hadiya, a member of that class |
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| Ever see a society where you don't find cute kids? I doubt you ever will. |
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| Lee Inass Mary Manal |