Jordan (MNN) –Refugees and orphans flooding into Jordan are receiving therapy and life skill training through Al Hadaf, a ministry whose name means “the purpose.”
Maran Maayah, founder of Al Hadaf, explains that God placed a burden on her heart to help orphan and refugee children.
“The vision was birthed in my soul and my heart that every child deserves a chance to live, learn, and grow. God called me to the children living in Jordan from Iraq, from Jordan, any nationality, so we started Al Hadaf serving Jordanian orphans. Then we started helped Iraq refugees when ISIS invasion happened in Iraq.”
Help for the Hurting
Maayah believes helping children is especially important because of how vulnerable they are.
(Image courtesy of Patrik Neckman via Wikimedia Commons)
She especially wants to help “the child who is, for example, physically abused or sexually abused or emotionally abused and [doesn’t] know that this is abuse. Some children are used to that kind of abuse because they don’t know that this is wrong,” she says. “The child is, especially the orphan, without a parent. I feel they need someone that can take that role until they are with a family or an adult that can take care of them.”
With over 750,000 registered refugees, Jordan has the second most refugees by population density. Maayah and the rest of the staff at Al Hadaf have developed programs to help those hurting in several ways. One way they help orphans is through a life skills curriculum.
“We help the children through teaching them life skills [and] how precious they are in the eyes of the Creator because [most of] the orphans in Jordan were abandoned, so they don’t have even a family’s name and a tribal community,” Maayah explains. “Then we go to hygiene and then we go to relationships, up to dealing with money.”
Al Hadaf also helps train the children’s caregivers in the Jordanian foster care system.
“Islam forbids adoption, so we’re not allowed to adopt in Jordan. But there is a fostering program in Jordan, [and] we are the only certified training ministry to help moms [learn] how to take care of the child.”
Al Hadaf also offers art therapy to help refugees who have experienced trauma. Maayah says that through these art therapy sessions, Al Hadaf has also begun partnering with local schools to help prevent the ideology of terrorism in the next generation.
“We’re inviting the students to come and watch what this ideology of terrorism is doing to the families in Iraq, and we allow the women and children to tell [their stories] for the students in the schools in Jordan,” she says.
Visitors at Petra. (Image courtesy of Britchi Mirela via Wikimedia Commons)
Get Involved
The burden in Jordan is great, and Al Hadaf has numerous needs as they try to serve as many children and families as they can.
“I just pray that God would give me strength as a leader of the ministry. God will hide me behind the cross and the people would see the love of Jesus through everything we do,” Maayah says.
“Pray for the team. The need is huge and the workers are few, so it’s not easy to serve and to help others and sometimes ignore your own needs. [Pray] that God would give us wisdom how to deal with the people who are traumatized and in so much pain without us taking the pain ourselves.”
Al Hadaf also has financial needs, and you can donate to help their crucial work with refugees and orphans here.
“The people who are serving, don’t get much [money], but we were called. We do not follow the money; we follow the calling and money will come, but it can get challenging sometimes.”
Children in Zaatari refugee camp. (Header photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
