As part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations of The Fulbright Program worldwide, Fulbright Jordan conducted an upcycling workshop and a charitable donation project with alumni in collaboration with the amazing social enterprise - Teenah.
Earlier this summer, and as part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations of The Fulbright Program worldwide, Fulbright Jordan carried a workshop in collaboration with women-led and social enterprise Teenah. The workshop involved Jordanian and American alumni from different programs and cohorts who volunteered to upcycle old branded Fulbright t-shirts and tote bags which were later donated ahead of Eid celebrations in collaboration with the local charity organization - Ahed Group. The objective of this workshop was to strengthen the role of Fulbright alumni in their society to promote social and sustainable responsibility.
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Teenah was officially established by Ms. Agnes Aistleitner and Ms. Raneem Meqbel in Irbid, Jordan. The beginning of Teenah started with the 2016 refugee crisis when the co-founders wanted to contribute to improving the situation of Syrian refugees and Jordanian women in the area of North Jordan. Since mid-2017, Teenah has built a highly motivated and creative team of 15 Syrian refugees and Jordanian women whose living situation remarkably increased through both a sustainable and impactful business model. Teenah produces different products using materials that are not harmful to the environment, producing in a way that is meaningful to the people involved in it and to society. In the video below, you can listen to the co-founder, Ms. Meqbel as she talks more about this social enterprise.
Also, the partnership between Teenah and The Commission started back in 2019 when our Outreach team reached out to Teenah to produce our tote bags with the new branding, which we loved and were amazed by the quality and service of their products.
We wanted to document this exciting project and hear from our alumni about their experience. The video below was shot during the workshop in the city of Irbid, in Northern Jordan.
Taking into consideration COVID-19 safety measures, the workshop involved many steps including an introduction to the story and mission of Teenah by co-founder Raneem Meqbel, getting to see how women at Teenah produce various products, and most importantly, volunteering to produce the products and experience the process firsthand. The volunteers got the chance to upcycle the t-shirts and tote bags and turn them into kids’ t-shirts and laptop/notebook sleeves and customize their own laptop sleeves as well. The volunteers expressed their gratitude to have the opportunity to be a part of the workshop to support the local community. Yasmin Noureddin, one of the volunteers and Fulbright alumna of the Foreign Student Scholarship, said:
I was very happy that the mission seeks to conduct its activities in an ethical and responsible way through upcycling and supporting local communities.
As part of the voluntary work the alumni did, they had the chance to get to know each other and form new friendships. After the workshop concluded, and before heading back to Amman, The Communications and Outreach team treated everyone with a group lunch.
We would like to extend our thanks for Teenah for hosting us for this incredible project, and to all of our alumni who volunteered their time to make this project possible. And lastly, we want to thank The Fulbright Program that funded this project through the 75th Anniversary fund.
