"Sawa" (Together) is a programme launched in Jordan to protect persons with disabilities belonging to the most vulnerable segments of the Syrian and Jordanian refugee community, which aims to provide integrated rehabilitation, psychosocial support, empowerment and inclusion services, with a specific focus on Paralympic sports and PeerCounselling activities.
The project aims to reach a wide segment of the population facing protection-related challenges and needs, without discrimination of any kind, with a special focus on young people with disabilities. The intervention will involve 46 women and men between the ages of 15 and 50 and their families, who will be involved in Paralympic sports activities, such as table tennis and gymnastics, to enhance their individual skills.
Thanks to the cooperation with the Jordan Paralympic Committee, the activities will take place in the space of the 'Sport City' in Amman, equipped for all needs. The sports activities, in addition to psycho-socially strengthening the children involved, will have a rehabilitation and physical strengthening function.
An experienced Peer Counsellor with disabilities, already trained and qualified, will be engaged in weekly sessions for a period of 30 weeks to support a target group of 30 persons with disabilities, both from the host and refugee communities. The main components that make up the Peer Counselling pathway are the recovery of a sense of self-sufficiency, the reconstruction of human relations, and social reform (advocacy for rights as members of society and active participation).
Through this integrated and holistic approach, it will be possible to intervene on people's sense of marginalisation, to improve their self-esteem through the awareness that they can be autonomous, despite their limitations and specificities.
This project is part of a broader intervention that Un Ponte Per has been carrying out for years in Jordan, focusing on the inclusion and protection of Syrian and Jordanian people with disabilities.
