Confronting COVID-19 at Safi Kitchen

Speeches Shim

With the support of USAID, the Jordan Southern Ghawr Company is working to attract new guests and ensure hygiene and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Video Transcript 
Abdeljawad: The coronavirus crisis had a very negative impact. You can say that the crisis has disrupted 99 percent of our work. Aycha: I used to work and cover my kids’ expenses, helping with the household’s income. When the coronavirus hit, I had to stay at home, and there was no longer any source of income for the household. I was the breadwinner, I worked with Abu Rashed, got paid a salary and used it to spend on my children. Text: USAID helped the Safi Kitchen shift its maerking to attract local tourists and apply safety and hygiene guidleines in response to COVID-19. Um Rashed: I work at Safi Kitchen. There are four local women from my area who work with me to support their families. They need their job at Safi Kitchen for the income. Abdeljawad: The Jordan Southern Ghawr Company for Sustainable Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development was founded in 2017. I was looking for a project that could benefit both me and my country. Um Rashed: It is important that we receive inbound tourists, since there are no tourists coming from abroad. With the closing of the airports, if there are no local tourists, there will be no income whatsoever. Abdeljawad: After the curfew was lifted, the local community was our primary target. Our marketing manager liaised with many people in Amman through some embassies, the Ministry of Tourism and the Jordan Toursim Board. Thank God, we were able to attract other local communities, such as from Karak and Amman. Aycha: I love my job. I love it here because it has become familiar to me. It’s like a second family to me. We’re one family here at Safi Kitchen. We don’t discriminate over who does what. We’re all one family.