The Middle East and North Africa is a region challenged by poverty and crisis, leaving one in every five children out of school – bringing the total number of out of school children to 15 million and a further 10 million at risk of dropping out. 

In addition to this, girls face starker conditions that are multiplied due to social, cultural, and religious constraints, putting them at greater risk of early marriage, unemployment, violence, and lack of education.

MENA is also one of the most youthful regions in the world – half of its population is under the age of 24. Therefore, there is an urgent need to invest in children and youth in this region in order to break this cycle of poverty.

In early 2017, Worldreader partnered with six national Jordanian organizations; Queen Rania Foundation, Haya Cultural Center, Jordan River Foundation, the Children’s Museum Jordan, ILearn and Integrated Solutions to launch its first project in the region in Jordan. It aimed to bring digital reading to vulnerable families impacted by the Syrian refugee crisis.

We are now expanding our efforts in the region to focus more broadly on learning education and parenting programs, youth empowerment programs, and gender equity programs. We aim to deliver these reading thematic programs to various countries within the region, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt.

We realize that significant gains can only be made by partnering with regional governments, INGOs, and other national organizations. By combining our expertise we can create substantial life-changing impact that respond to national needs with culturally sensitive, global, and innovative solutions.

We welcome partnerships to create change through reading.  And so I encourage you to contact me to explore how we can join forces to empower children, youth, women, and communities in the MENA region.

Looking forward to connecting with you.

Yumna Abuhassan,

Associate Director, Programs/Partnerships,
Worldreader