Cash assistance provides vital aid and hope to Syrian refugee families in Jordan

Fifty-one-year-old Hanan fled war-stricken Syria in 2013 with her three children in search of safety. She found refuge in Jordan, where she now lives in a modest apartment in Amman, raising her family by herself. Hanan dedicates all her time and resources to her children: Zain, 12; Moataz, 16 and Narjes, 17. She does everything in her capacity to provide them with a decent life.

But with high living costs in Jordan and her inability to work because of her frail health condition, Hanan struggles to meet her family’s basic needs, such as rent and food. She suffers from arthritis, disc problems, diabetes and high blood pressure, which makes it difficult to find a job and secure a steady income. She has had to take some difficult decisions to make ends meet over the years. “When we first found a home in Jordan, I had to buy less food to make sure we had a place to stay,” said Hanan.

She pays 180 Jordanian Dinars (around US$ 250) for a humble one-bedroom apartment with very little furniture. During the cold winter months in Amman, the mother of three relies on a single small heater to keep her children warm.

With no other close family members in Jordan to support her with raising her children and covering the family’s living expenses, Hanan has had to resort to the help of some of her old neighbours, who she says were of great support on many occasions. She also sometimes found herself indebted to local grocery shops to buy food for her children.

In this context, the multi-purpose cash assistance that Hanan receives from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a lifeline for her and her family. It helps, even if only partially, to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. “I spend all (the cash assistance) on the kids and the house,” the loving mother said.

But sometimes, her children ask for special treats that she cannot always afford, like the traditional Jordanian dish of ‘Mansaf’. So Hanan has to save for weeks, sometimes months, to be able to buy the lamb and prepare the dish that her children desire.

UNHCR runs one of its largest cash assistance programmes in Jordan to support vulnerable refugee households to cover their basic needs, giving them choice and dignity. It is also transitioning to distributing this cash assistance to refugees through mobile wallets, a modality that provides refugees with more independence in managing their finances and enhances their financial inclusion.

UNHCR’s cash assistance programme reached over a quarter of a million refugees in Jordan throughout 2022. Thanks to generous support from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), more than 13,500 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan received cash assistance for a period of two months. Like Hanan’s, many refugee families rely on this assistance to stay afloat. “I don’t know what I would do without it. It is the only support I have,” she said.

Reflecting on the challenges they have faced in recent years and looking to what’s next, Hanan places great importance on her children’s education, which she believes is the path to a brighter future. Her children are currently enrolled in school, and she is adamant about doing her best to ensure they receive the quality education they need and deserve. “All I wish is for my kids to have a better future and to be educated. They would make me proud.”