10-10-2023 | di COOPI

Jordan. Psychosocial support activities have improved Noha's prospects

Noha is a 30-year-old Jordanian-born woman with six children. Her situation of economic hardship caused her emotional distress, which undermined the relationship with her husband and children and compromised her active role in the community. Noha embarked on a path of individual psychological support, which was successfully concluded, thanks to the project "B-LIEVE: Increasing Livelihood Income and Empowerment for Eliminating Vulnerability in Jordan," funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with Education for Employment-Europe (EFE-Europe) and Education for Employment-Jordan (EFE-Jordan)

The woman participated in psychosocial support activities offered to beneficiaries of the B-LIEVE project, through which COOPI aims to improve the economic empowerment and social inclusion of the most vulnerable groups in Jordan. Through the interaction with the group and COOPI social workers, the need for Noha to receive more in-depth psychological support emerged. Upon the practitioners' suggestion, she agreed to undertake a 9-session intensive psychotherapy journey in which she confronted the relationship with her family and herself, and she put her concerns and guilt on the table to be overcome.

At the end of the path of psychosocial support, Noha reported to COOPI workers that she was able to change her attitude toward her husband and develop a new focus on her children's needs. Indeed, she began to plan their schooling in order to improve their life prospects. Also, with a new positivity toward the future the woman started to make life plans of her own:

The relationship with my husband has improved and I am more committed to my life, for myself and my children. Thanks to the project I am thinking of a new way to earn money, I want to start a handicraft business, this makes me joyful and with my own fulfillment.

During the interview with COOPI workers, she added:

After these sessions, suicidal thoughts are no longer part of my daily routine, I feel more inclined to life.

The B-LIEVE project works to improve the economic empowerment and social inclusion of the most vulnerable groups in Jordan with financial and psychosocial support, improved access to education, training services, and self-employment opportunities. In Jordan since 2017, COOPI has been carrying out projects targeting the local population and the Syrian community in the country, focusing on women, people with disabilities, former prisoners, and at-risk youth.