Tafilah, Jan. 11 (Petra) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in partnership with the Information and Research Center of the King Hussein Foundation, on Sunday launched a specialized Training of Trainers program targeting charitable organizations in Tafilah Governorate.

The initiative is implemented under the "EMPOWER-Jordan" project, funded by the European Union, in cooperation with Sarh International Consulting and Training. It targets seven charitable organizations in the governorate, with the aim of strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing community-level service delivery.

The two-week program, hosted by the Tafileh Children Charitable Society, focuses on training heads of charitable organizations and their representatives to enable them to transfer knowledge and improve organizational performance. Participants are expected to apply the acquired expertise within their institutions and extend it to other associations operating in the local community.

The training includes interactive workshops on problem analysis, project design, objective setting, formulation of outputs and their linkage to activities, budget preparation, monitoring and evaluation, and the application of corporate governance principles to address operational challenges facing charitable organizations.

Manager of the EMPOWER-Jordan project Hammam Shdaifat said the partnerships reflect a commitment to supporting local communities, underscoring the role of charitable associations as a key driver of grassroots development.

Shdaifat explained that Tafilah, Madaba, and Ajloun governorates were selected based on a study conducted by the Information and Research Center of the King Hussein Foundation, aimed at directing support toward priority communities. He noted that the project provides administrative, financial, and developmental training to seven associations in each governorate, with each association required to transfer the expertise to two additional organizations.

This cascading approach, he said, expands the program’s reach to 21 associations per governorate, or 63 associations across the three governorates, contributing to the strengthening of civil society organizations’ role in sustainable development.

He added that the Training of Trainers program equips participants with skills in training delivery, session management, and program design, while enhancing planning, communication, and team-building capacities, thereby improving institutional efficiency within charitable organizations.

Shdaifat highlighted the importance of preparing qualified trainers from within associations to support community development initiatives, broaden the scope of impact, and reinforce institutional sustainability through the promotion of organized volunteerism at the local level.

//Petra// AJ