Abu-Ghazaleh Visits Al-Muwaqqar District

CENTRAL BADIA, AL MUWAQQAR - HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh visited the Al-Muwaqqar District in the Central Badia of Jordan as part of a series of activities conducted by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum’s Development of Jordan Badia Committee.

The initiative included a visit to the Al-Muwaqqar High School for Girls and 'Mansheyat Al Qudah' Society. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh was accompanied by Al-Muwaqqar District Education Director Mr. Rasmi Hadrab and representative of the local community Mr. Talal Nayef Al Khreisha. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh presented various initiatives for the community and the university graduates in the region.

At Al-Muwaqqar High School for Girls, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh endorsed the establishment of a new fully furnished training hall equipped with newly refurbished computer devices. He explained that all computer devices at the current training halls will be refurbished, adding that the school will be provided with free Internet connection through Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization's Internet service provider which supplies all its offices and diverse activities and initiatives since 2007.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh directly addressed the students urging them to work hard and encouraging them to be innovative and creative regardless of the harsh surroundings or the inadequacy of the school’s equipment. He also pledged to donate various publications and dictionaries issued by the Organization to the School library to further endorse the promotion  of knowledge.

School Headmistress Ms. Salha Al Khreisha underlined the positive impact of Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh’s initiatives on the educational process and on academic skills building.

At Mansheyat Al Qudah Society, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh met representatives of the local community with whom he discussed  problems facing the District and the common challenges plaguing the whole Jordanian Badia region, in particular, poverty, unemployment and education.

Members of the local community emphasized the need for natural resource investment in the area due to the many unexploited natural resources found in the Jordanian Badia such as oil shale, natural gas, phosphate and water. However, they pointed out that the current investments don’t meet the area’s required services, urging owners of such investments to give priority to the recruitment of the Badia youth and to comply with environmental standards.

People also expressed their grievance at the lack of sustainable development projects calling for development of education.

For his part, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh emphasized that all the challenges faced by the region will be incorporated in the Development of Jordan Badia Plan that is currently being drafted by a specialized committee at TAGKF with members representing the Northern, Central and Southern Badia areas.

 “Our mission through the Forum is to propose laws, regulations, and programs to decision makers. The Forum is a think tank that submits its recommendation on all social and economic policies which take into consideration the transformation of Jordan into a knowledge-based society."

He also expressed that corporate social responsibility should be carried out by investors in the district through the allocation of a portion of their profits for supporting the local community, adding that the government should not solely shoulder the responsibility for the country’s problems and each of us has tasks to accomplish.  

Responding to complaints about the lack of training programs and centers in the District, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh promised to establish two knowledge centers for members of the community which will offer training programs for English language and Information Technology.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kheif Al Qudah, head of the Mansheyat Al Qudah Society, welcomed Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh noting that the Jordanian Badia is geographically located in six governorates and has many strengths and resources with investments that exceed JD500 million. He pointed out, however, that environmental pollution, poverty and unemployment are the result of these investments.