Jordan Times
Friday, April 14, 2006
King Abdullah follows up on Rweished development projects
RWEISHED — During a visit to Rweished on Thursday to follow up on initiatives he directed in 2000, His Majesty King Abdullah toured the women's society and met with local elders to assess the community's needs.
At the Rweished Women's Society for Social Development, the Monarch visited the organisation's kindergarten, where schoolchildren are now able to learn the alphabet and build their vocabulary with interactive software geared towards their age level. The women's centre is equipped with eight new computers, in addition to other IT equipment, to serve the community, in its knowledge station as well as in the classrooms.
In 2000, the King visited Rweished and gave instructions for the implementation of several projects in the area, including the rehabilitation of the women's society.
The King met with Sharifa Zein Bint Nasser, honorary president of the society, who said the organisation is working on multiple levels to meet the demands of area residents.
Included in the society's goals are combating illiteracy, providing school facilities, holding training courses and hosting free medical days.
Sharifa Zein also said that the Ministry of Environment received financial compensation for environmental damages sustained in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war and part of the amount would be used for the development of the badia.
While at the centre, Majesty King Abdullah also issued a directive to the Ministry of Education to support the role of the knowledge station, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
While in Rweished, King Abdullah also met with elders, giving them a platform to voice problems and concerns within the community.
“I know the extent of poverty and unemployment in your area. I want to listen to you so we can work together... to come up with ideas and projects that enhance your living standards,” the King said.
A government study of poverty pockets determined the level of poverty in Rweished to be 73.3 per cent.
The Monarch, who listened to the citizens' demands, assured them that further projects would improve conditions.
He also called for the formation of a committee to communicate between the Royal Court, the government and the area's residents to determine community needs.
The King called on the concerned authorities to meet residents' demands for services and education.
Also on Thursday, the King was briefed on water projects by the Hashemite Fund for Badia Development while visiting Hadalat Dam, the result of a water harvest project completed at the end of 2005 by the fund.
The rainwater reservoir has a capacity of 40 million cubic metres (mcm) and currently holds 19mcm.
King Abdullah stressed the importance of building more such dams to provide water for irrigation.