The Zikra Initiative held a successful Zikrayat Campaign that was sponsored by the International Advertising Association (IAA), Jo Bedu, Esense and the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative in collaboration with Ghor Handicapped Institute during the Holy month of Ramadan. The campaign aimed to support the citizens of Ghor Al Mazra’a during the month of Ramadan through interpersonal relations between the volunteers and the Ghor participants and to raise funds for Zikra’s micro-loan program. The campaign was a success with over 500 participants attending in total and it raised money for two new families to have the opportunity to open a small business to financially sustain themselves through Zikra’s micro-loan program.
Volunteers that participated in the campaign varied in background; some were corporate employees, other were tourist or foreign residents and some were from the capital. The Zikra Initiative newest objective is to enforce corporate social responsibility and involve corporations in local projects as well as to build more personal relations with the community it caters too. The premise of involving corporations in social development is so that they may build strong ties and loyalties with the general public through interpersonal relations. Furthermore, corporate social activities allows for team building opportunities and fun proactive corporate events. With that in mind, the Zikra Initiative creates special programs for corporations interested in CSR. During the Zikrayat campaign, Toyota employees attended and celebrated Eid with those in Ghor.
The Zikra Initiative organized a series of interactive activities for the volunteers so that they may experience the Ghor lifestyle as well as appreciate the various talents and skills those in Ghor have acquired due to their harsh living conditions. Volunteers got to learn and try how to make a hata, create decorations and toys with recyclable materials as well as make bread. Through these activities, the volunteers and the Al Ghor participants worked and interacted together. Volunteers and participants also painted houses to help stimulate children’s creativity and for both the volunteers and participants to work together to achieve a similar objective. Volunteers and participants also got to break their Ramadan fast together, feasting on traditional food from Ghor.
The nights ended with fun festivities such as Amer Khuffash singing Eid songs, Nadia Odeh screening her short film “Ya Hallawood” directed by the Amman Filmmakers Cooperated that was created as a filmmaking workshop at Ghor Al Mazra’a. The film has also had recognition and will be screened in Abu Dhabi and San Francisco. The night continued had a quiz night in which participants from Al Ghor got to answer questions and won mobile cards and phones from Umniah.
Rabee Zreigat, founder of the Zikra Initiative stated, “Overall, this event encapsulates what Zikra is truly about: by gathering people’s resources together, whether financial or social, making a difference can be easy and fun. Our sponsor’s financial support enables us to achieve high exposure and awareness. And our volunteers’ willingness to leave their comfort zone and their eagerness to explore a different aspect of our society, were able to help finance families in a dignified manner. Lastly and most important, it was the people of Ghor whose hospitality made Zikrayat an enjoyable experience for everyone.”
