Sabah Al-Momani

Sabah Al Momani, a 32-years old widow, succeeded within one year after joining the “Start and Improve Your Project” program in owning a fancy house and a garment workshop that earns a monthly income of around 500 Jordanian Dinars.

Sabah’s difficult voyage started with the death of her husband over 12 years ago, leaving her with three children, the oldest of whom is in the tenth grade, and the youngest of whom was born the day Sabah’s husband was buried.

Sabah radiates with pride as she relates the story of her struggle which represents a model for the girls and women of her village “Ibbin” in the Ajloun Governorate. After having been totally reliant on the monthly pension payment she and her three children inherited from her late husband, “I have become a productive woman, personally managing my business, employing three girls from my village in my workshop and training others in the skills of sewing,” says Sabah.

She adds that she “refused to accept the status quo and to sit and wait for what fate may have in store for her,” but rather decided to look for an opportunity to fulfill her ambition and improve her family’s standard of living.

Immediately after her husband passed away, the first decision Sabah took was to join a series of courses at the Princess Basma Center to learn sewing. She quickly mastered the art and soon became a sewing trainer at the Union of Charitable Societies in her village.

	Sabah with her proud parents.

In the mean time, Sabah succeeded in making a satisfactory income from designing and making garments for women in her local community. She and her children were able to move from a room next to her husband’s family to a small independent house that she bought.

Sabah’s ambition did not stop at that. She realized that sewing alone will not satisfy her children’s educational and living needs and will not provide them with security. “Had I succumbed to despair and emptiness, I would not be the owner of a building of two floors – one I presently use as a sewing workshop and the other I live in with my children,” says Sabah. “It never occurred to me, living in the circumstances following the death of my husband, that one day I would become a famous businesswoman in my area,” she continues. “Look at me now. I own a small fashion house. I design gowns, dresses, drapes, and bedcovers, and sell my products in neighboring towns and villages.”

Sabah’s present achievements are the result of taking two courses in 2002 as part of the “Start and Improve your Project” program funded by USAID. She heard about the two-week courses at the Ibbin Women Society. “The two courses changed my life for the better, and broadened my horizons and I learned the scientific methods of starting and managing the project.”

After graduating from the “Prepare to Start” and “The Business Game” courses, Sabah thought about starting a business of her own. She adds that the courses taught her project management, market studies and preparing feasibility studies. These skills enabled her to establish her project on a solid ground. Sabah also points out that in addition to training her, the program guided her towards success and monitored her development until her business settled down and started realizing profits.

Omar Al Omari, the trainer who supervised Sabah’s training, describes her achievement as “outstanding”. He said that during the training she was among “the most interested trainees,” adding that “she takes initiative and presents questions that show intelligence and open-mindedness.” He pointed out that Sabah was closely observed during the feasibility study stage, where he noticed her readiness to take initiative, her inquisitiveness, and her desire to establish her own project. Hence, he supported her search for financing sources. Soon, Sabah obtained a soft loan of 2,000 Jordanian Dinars from her family and succeeded in repaying it within a short period. At the same time, she continues to repay the house loan.

	With some training from USAID, Sabah was able to open her own business and employ several of the women in her village.

The “Start and Improve your Project” is a training program designed to provide the necessary support and training to small project owners in order to develop and enhance their basic skills. USAID, in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) financed the design and initial implementation of the training courses between 1999 and 2002 for a total of $500,000. A total of twenty training manuals have been developed, in addition to 14 practical manual supplements, designed on an interactive basis utilizing the self-learn method. The training manuals were divided into four components: The Simplified Method for Starting and Improving Your Project, Start Your Project, Improve Your Project, and Expand Your Project. To date, 27 trainers have been certified to provide this training.

In 2001, the Jordanian American Business Association (JABA) was appointed to oversee the implementation and coordination of the project, providing training and support services to beneficiaries through a number of local associate institutions such as the Jordan River Foundation, and the Center for Developing Small Projects at the Hashemite Fund for Human Development.

According to Hanan Ghannoum from JABA, by September 2003 the program had provided training services to about 1517 pioneers, some of whom have operating projects, and others who wish to start their own small and micro projects. Of those, 998 (821 women and 177 men) have been trained as part of a two-year grant provided by the Ministry of Planning to JABA (2002 – 2004).

Sabah Al Momani, with whom many associations have contracted for training girls and women from neighboring villages, addresses Jordanian women saying that they should direct their energies towards benefiting their communities. She asserts that she now aims at raising her income, and can face society with clout and pride.