Entrepreneurship For the Poor: Injaz Begins to Work With Orphans in SOS Children’s Villages

Following a successful pilot programme in Lebanon, INJAZ Al-Arab joined forces with SOS Children's Villages to provide employment training in underprivileged villages across the MENA region. The agreement, signed on Tuesday at the 13th MENA Social Impact Forum held in Dubai, implies implementing “workforce readiness programming” at SOS Children’s Villages, which are dedicated to caring for children without parental care.

“With the region facing grave unemployment rates, we need to ensure that children from all walks of life are given the chance to succeed – including those without parental care,” said Nicole Nassar, Managing Director of SOS Children’s Villages Gulf Area during the signing of the memorandum. The organisation, which has a branch in Dubai, runs more than 2,400 programmes for 2.2 million children and youth across 134 countries and territories, focusing on providing education and health services to children who have lost or who are at risk of losing parental care. 

The pilot programme was implemented in Beirut, where two INJAZ programs were spearheaded at the SOS Children’s Villages Youth Program: JA It’s My Business and JA Be A Leader. “One of the most important lessons we impart to students through our programming is the value of collaboration. Youth unemployment isn’t an issue any one organisation can tackle, but through our partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, we hope to support some of the young people most in need of economic empowerment throughout the region,” said Nickolas Neibauer, Chief Development Officer of INJAZ Al-Arab.

For more information, check out INJAZ Al-Arab’s Facebook Page.