CARE Jordan

I strongly believe in the empowerment of vulnerable communities to take charge and own their futures. The prevailing models for international humanitarian assistance and development programs are held back by outdated approaches that limit our ability to tap into the full potential of the communities we work with. The Elevate Prize would allow us to break this mold and present a different model and approach that would set an example for others across the Middle East and beyond. We'll start with home improvements and maintenance but the model itself and mindset shift we want to see will be transferrable to multiple other sectors.

The initiative we're proposing is “HandyAid"; a social enterprise that would focus on empowerment of vulnerable communities – including refugees – to access employment while also providing a social good focused on home improvements and maintenance. If selected as a winner, the Elevate Prize funding would allow us to build a strong leadership team, invest in a mobile application and accelerate the launch and growth of this initiative. The prize would give us the flexibility and freedom that our current donors do not afford and allow us to take bold steps forward to challenge the prevailing models.

Born and raised in Palestine, my overall life experience and outlook was shaped by growing up under military occupation and experiencing a reality in which inequality, oppression, and disempowerment came hand-in-hand with resilience, pride, and a strong sense of community and solidarity against all odds. After law school in Jerusalem and LLM studies at UVA, I spent 11 years focused on human rights across the Arab Region before making the transition to CARE for a deeper focus on Jordan, gender justice, and fighting poverty. 

My life experiences have shaped my commitment to designing effective strategies that work and a strong belief in ensuring communities own and lead the initiatives to better their lives.

This is my vision for HandyAid – to present an alternative model for community ownership and leadership to better their own lives. We want to present an economically viable and sustainable business model that creates employment and improves the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable communities in the medium term, and ultimately allows for their transformation out of poverty, towards more dignity, and seed hope for a better future. In the case of HandyAid this happens to start with a focus on home improvements and maintenance.

Jordan has over 800,000 refugees, over 80% of whom live in urban neighborhoods. Many refugees and lower-income Jordanians endure crowded neighborhoods with dilapidated, unsanitary housing. 

Projects implemented by aid organizations do not add up to having a lasting impact. Moreover, these projects are short term in nature and dependent on limited funding. We want to present an alternative business model that is sustainable with decreasing need for donor funding.

Where funding is available as part of cash for shelter or cash for rent projects, HandyAid will ensure the funding has multiplier effects and benefits for the community. And where services are offered publicly, HandyAid will channel profits to benefit vulnerable communities.

The HandyAid cycle:

• Build capacities through tailored vocational trainings and on the job training.
• Build a network of professionals in the different areas of interest to secure discounted pricing.
• Market services to the general public with a higher level of quality than common in Jordan. Services would include thermal and sound insulation, sanitary and electrical works, photovoltaic systems and others.
• Ensure community ownership and participation through work with INGO partners and the local communities.
• Profit made from marketed services would be used to implement home improvements in vulnerable neighborhoods. 

HandyAid aims to bridge the gap between different development and humanitarian program approaches while converging them to provide meaningful and sustainable solutions. The innovation in our model is in pursuing this convergence and combining it with a social enterprise model that would use technology through a mobile application as well as emphasis on developing a platform through which multiple INGOs and services providers can engage with the general public to market and fund projects while the platform ensures quality controls are in place.

This will be disruptive because we are going to close circles, and go beyond the humanitarian-development nexus. Our ambitious enterprise will focus on building network effects between professionals, INGOs, and members of the community while providing access to paying job opportunities for vulnerable communities, along with delivery of services and quality of life enhancements to the vulnerable communities. We want to test out different business models quickly to settle on what works best in practice for the context we are in. We also aim to maintain a commitment to gender transformation by including women in all aspects of the initiative and proactively challenging social attitudes and gender stereotypes.    

Founded in 1945, CARE serves 92 million of the most marginalized and vulnerable communities to overcome poverty and social injustice. With operations in 104 countries, CARE has 1,349 programs that help communities survive and thrive after an emergency, improve maternal and child health, ensure that refugees, women, and girls have access to education and economic opportunities, and bolster food security and increase resilience to climate change.