The handover ceremony of kitchen equipment was held on Wednesday 29th of May 2024, in the presence of Mr. OKUYAMA Jiro, Ambassador of Japan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Mr. Aref Al-Rawajeh, Mayor of Greater Madaba Municipality.

In 2020, the Government of Japan extended a grant of ninety thousand one hundred and eighty-three US dollars (US$ 90,183) to Greater Madaba Municipality for the provision of kitchen equipment under the scheme called Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGP).

This grant assistance aims to empower women seeking employment in Madaba by procuring kitchen equipment to Madaba Production Kitchen, where skill training and job opportunities are provided for women. The establishment of the kitchen is a part of the municipality’s “Strategic Plan for Local Economic Development 2019-2021”. This project is aimed to enable local women to be economically independent and eventually, reduce the high unemployment rate in the region.

In the speech delivered during the handover ceremony, Ambassador OKUYAMA expressed his appreciation to Greater Madaba Municipality for its commitment to social and economic development in the region and stated: “We understand that in Madaba, there is a scarcity of job opportunities for women. To tackle this problem, the municipality focused on promoting the advancement of women in the labor market in its regional development plan, and established the“Madaba Production Kitchen”. We believe that your initiative will play a positive role in enhancing the livelihood in the region.”

Under Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects, Japan has extended more than 10 million US Dollars for 159 projects to non-governmental organizations, schools, hospitals, and local governments in Jordan since 1993.