VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #3384 3631322
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281322Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4034
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 6134
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 4033
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0690

UNCLAS AMMAN 003384 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: N/A 
TAGS: PREF EAID IZ JO
SUBJECT: Monitoring and Evaluation for Save The Children- 
Jordan Cooperative Agreement SPRMCO07CA049 "TaQleem Youth" 
 
¶1.  (U) RefCoord attended on December 27, the first 
graduation ceremony for students attending Save The 
Children-supported Ta'leem classes in Amman, Jordan. 
RefCoord met with Jason Erb, Deputy Program Director for 
Save the Children-Jordan, and with trainers and volunteers 
for the Taleem program.  Fifty vulnerable Iraqi students 
received certificates marking their successful completion 
of vocation training in "customer service" and basic 
communication.  Jordanian trainers and educators attended 
the graduation ceremony and expressed support for the 
students.  After the ceremony, RefCoord met with 23 
students to discuss their experience.  The students ranged 
in age from 17 to 25, and had come to Jordan without 
completing secondary school in Iraq. 
 
¶2. (U) In accordance with the program objectives, students 
had learned conflict resolution strategies and strengthened 
their connections to one another and to Jordanian community 
organizations.  The students said they learned valuable 
coping skills in the program that helped them manage their 
own anger and frustration about their life as refugees. 
Most students agreed that living among Jordanians was not a 
problem.  On the streets, students had heard negative 
comments generally directed at Iraq and Iraqis, but none of 
the students had experienced direct discrimination or 
exclusion. 
 
¶3. (U) In discussion with RefCoord, the students praised 
the vocational training, but they expressed concerns about 
the trainingQs limitations and about what next step they 
might take to improve their lives in Jordan.  Two young men 
said they were seeking [illegal] employment in Jordan to 
put their newly acquired skills to use.  They recommended 
that future training include a stronger English language 
component, as this was the most frequently requested skill 
in the hospitality sector where many of the students sought 
jobs. 
 
¶4. (U) Employment opportunities was the most frequent 
request from the students and the Iraqi volunteer trainers 
who worked with them.  The trainers said that poverty was 
increasing among the youth and their families.  One 
Jordanian woman explained that she knew the students turned 
their 5 Dinar (USD 7) weekly transportation stipend over to 
the family as a source of income and walked to school.  The 
students said they were able to find work, although at 
exploitive salaries and under uncertain conditions.  One 
student said that she was hired and worked for a company 
but was turned out when police came to check for illegal 
employees.  When she was fired, her employer refused to pay 
her the remaining salary and threatened to turn her in if 
she insisted. 
 
¶5.  (U) Students also raised the issue of their uncertain 
future.  After completing training, only seven of the 23 
students knew they would be resettled, with four of them 
accepted in the U.S. program.  All of the other students 
expected to remain in Jordan.  One young man joked, "I want 
to be resettled in Abdoun (an affluent section of Amman)." 
The young people asked repeatedly for the opportunity to 
study beyond secondary school in either university or 
vocational institutions. 
 
¶6.  (U) Comment:  Save The Children program graduations 
will continue through the end of December 2008 and into the 
first week in January 2009.  Save The Children will meet 
its targets as outlined in the extended cooperative 
agreement.  The feedback from students indicates the 
Ta'leem program was a positive experience, particularly the 
training and the resulting community-building.  However, 
the programming most obviously benefits young people 
awaiting resettlement to countries where they can plug into 
a welcoming employment and education system. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment continued:  The GOJ approved the Save The 
Children program with the stipulation that the training not 
lead to employment in Jordan.  Secondary school-aged young 
people represent a significant number of Iraqis in Jordan. 
They presently have no access to legal employment or to 
further study opportunities.  Post continues to press the 
GOJ to permit Iraqis to benefit from vocational training, 
and the right to legal employment.  End comment. 
 
Visit AmmanQs Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
BEECROFT