With the sponsorship of the SHIP Grant, I was able to attend a study abroad- internship in Amman Jordan this past summer. The program was through the School for International Training (SIT) and it was titled: Counseling & Humanitarian Action Internship in Amman, Jordan. The first two weeks of the program was spent learning about the causes of increased forced migration and asylum seekers in the region, especially the influx in Jordan as it is one of the stablest and safest countries in the region, as well as learning about how Jordan and international players are working to solve some of the problems that increased migration has caused, especially for those with UNHCR Refugee status. This period of classroom learning was joined with guest speakers from the UNHCR, members of Jordanian Parliament, and professors from the nearby universities as well as venturing out to the historically important locations throughout Jordan and to some of the organizations involved with refugees.

                Image of myself (black shirt) and friends from the SIT program while on an excursion to Ajloun, in the north of Jordan. In the picture, we are at the top of Ajloun Castle with the landscape of Syria behind us.

I was most interested in adaptations needed from the UNHCR for the specific type of refugees coming into Jordan and how their top priority was making sure the refugees are safe, healthy, and gaining a childhood education. Additionally, the transformation of the crisis was important: from a refugee crisis to a developmental crisis. The number of refugees entering Jordan has dwindled but the refugees present have stayed in Jordan for the past eight years without having access to employment and having limited access to housing and education. The UNHCR and worked with the Jordanian government in providing a number of employment licenses to Syrian refugees as well as incorporate non-profit school centers to help reach out to children.

                                                                          This picture shows myself in front of The Treasury in Petra during a southern excursion of Jordan. The Treasury is a UN World Heritage Site and is still home to some of the original inhabitants.