On 12 May 2016 the project “Garden of Mercy” in Amman, Jordan was inaugurated. The ceremony included the participation of the Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Msgr. Segundo Tejado Muñoz, who served previously at the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”. The project, which promotes job opportunities for Iraqi refugees in Jordan, served to ensure a regularly paid job to 15 persons, giving them work in the production of canned foods and farming and selling of oil and vegetables. In addition to the 15 workers, even their families benefitted from the earnings and were able to support themselves. The project also provided professional training in carpentry, agriculture and the food industry for about 200 Iraqis, and, thanks to the efforts of temporary workers, about 500 Iraqis are aided each year.
Financing was possible thanks to a donation from the Holy Father Pope Francis. In May 2016, Pope Francis decided to earmark $150,000 collected from the Holy See’s pavilion at the Milan EXPO 2015. The project “Promoting job opportunities for displaced Iraqis in Jordan”, was ultimately realized by Caritas Jordan at the Our Lady Peace Center in Amman. According to the data of the local Caritas, Jordan is still one of the main countries that takes in Syrian and Iraqi refugees, almost 1.3% of the population.
Photo ©Segundo Tejado Muñoz – Installation and blessing of the cornerstone