Giving up was never an option for me

The face of poverty can be seen everywhere in the world including Jordan, where natural resources are scarce and unemployment rates are high forcing  one in five people to struggle with multidimensional poverty. 

And although Ruba* experienced it all, she became the superhero of her story.

 “I had what seemed like a normal childhood in Mabada, surrounded by my large family of twelve. But after I graduated from university, my parents arranged a marriage with a man they believed to be my perfect match”, she begins sharing.

Fast forward, Ruba found herself as a married women with two beautiful daughters but it wasn't quite the fairy tale ending for her, “after getting married, I endured nine years of misery as my husband left his responsibilities as a father and husband at the door. Moreover, he was abusive and mentally unstable and didn't provide or care for our two daughters. He didn’t even allow me to work, closing every door in front of me. With time I unfolded who he truly was as a person and I decided to file for a divorce”, she says. 

But making that life changing decision was not easy for Ruba; a train of challenges was ready to pass this small family, “after my divorce, I had to become both the father and mother to my children. My ex-husband barely provided any support, and my family had their own affairs to attend to. It was an incredibly difficult choice to start my life over alone, but I had to do it for me and my daughters”, she mentions. In order to support her family, she had to release potential she never thought she had before, working various jobs to support her daughters, “I had to work in my small clothing store and as a salesperson, enroll in courses and apply for grants to support my family”, says Ruba. 

Ruba described her new life as a constant roller coaster of emotions and immense responsibilities but still she held her grounds as a strong mother; “no words can convey just how challenging my life has been in the past four years. Still, those difficult times have made me stronger than ever.

I had to either breakdown and give up or fight back and I chose to fight”, proudly reflects Ruba.

Although Ruba had multiple jobs, none of them provided the stability she yearned for until she heard about World Vision Syria Response project in Madaba, Al Waleh. The Archiving of Dams library is all about preserving and digitising invaluable documents, studies, and books related to Jordan’s dams. Whether you’re a researcher, student, investor, or part of an organisation, you can effortlessly access comprehensive information about any dam in Jordan online. Thanks to Ruba’s extensive experience in this field and after applying, she was offered a cash for work opportunity through the project.

Ruba emphasised on the importance of such projects, she explains, “I admire the project's goal of helping people easily find valuable information online. Often, we struggle to locate books or studies, wasting time and effort searching libraries sometimes without any results. This project is a game changer”. 

She also highlighted the various ways of uplifting the Jordanian community, she passionately shares, “to our small community, this project does a lot. In Madaba, whether you’re a fresh graduate or someone with experience, unemployment can haunt you down with its very high rates, such project revives our economy and give us a chance at a better life”, she adds.

Ruba didn't shy away from sharing her secret motivation in working hard, she shares, “people always ask me why I want to be part of the World Vision project while working so hard, I simply tell them; ambitions and goals have no limits. Thank god, through projects like the archiving of the dams’ library, I’m reaching my dreams step by step while making sure my daughters’ needs are being met. And I only strive for more success”. 

Through the Protection of Dams in Jordan project extension and with the generous funding from the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the unwavering support from partner, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), we are planning to reach 1,160 participants in Madaba, Jerash, Kerak and Tafila by 2025, providing WASH, rehabilitation and forestation services to local communities while strengthening livelihoods. 

And the glimmer of hope will never fade away.

*Name has been changed to protect identity. 

This project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).