GE donates USD25,000 to Save the Children in Jordan

A cheque for the amount was presented by Nabil Habayeb, GE's President and CEO for the Middle East and Africa region, and William Wakileh, GE National Executive, the Levant, Iraq & Kuwait, to Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal, President of the Board of Directors, Save the Children-Jordan; Ziyad Murad, Vice President of the Board of Directors, Save the Children - Jordan; Farouq Al-Amad, Executive Director, Save the Children in Jordan; and Dennis Walto, Country Director for Jordan and Lebanon, Save the Children, at an 'Open Day' held at the school.

The donation from GE will go towards refurbishment of the Al Nuzha School and purchase of educational toys, furniture and other school needs.

The GE contribution follows the highest level management honor for Nabil Habayeb and his team. In January 2006, Habayeb received the 2006 GE Chairman's Leadership Award for Innovation, the company's top-notch management award, and with it, the opportunity to designate US$25,000 to a charitable organization of his choosing. The GE Chairman's Leadership Award recognizes key individuals for the year in the categories of performance, strategy and initiatives, and leadership and culture.

'The need for quality education has never been more urgent,' said Habayeb.

'GE Foundation is committed to helping children learn and thrive, and our research-based grant initiatives are focused on achieving lasting change. Quality education has a far-reaching impact on any one's life - it actually ushers in a lifetime of opportunity. With this donation, we are indeed investing in building a strong and diverse future.'

'While this donation of US$25,000 is a follow-up to the GE Chairman's Leadership Award so generously bestowed on Nabil Habayeb and our team, I must add that this is only a small token of the community initiatives we have in mind for Jordan,' said Wakileh. 'We hope to be more actively involved through our GE Volunteers group in Jordan and provide hands-on assistance for the future activities in the school.'

'GE can deliver the scale of a great company to solve big needs around the world and can act as a good citizen by ensuring that that the benefits trickle to the grassroots,' he added. 'GE's operational growth in the region has always matched our increased participation in the local communities. And today is just a small step in our journey here.'

'GE's investment in Jordan's future today is a model of public and private partnership. With their support, early childhood education becomes more than learning through play; it's a great way to do business. We are proud to be a development partner of this great organization,' said Dennis Walto, Country Director for Jordan and Lebanon, Save the Children.

Today's presentation ceremony included a tour of the kindergarten, a presentation by Farouq I. Al-Amad, Executive Director of Save the Children-Jordan's office, and a colorful cultural program that showcased the talents of the kindergarten children as well as participants from UNRWA, Zaha cultural Centre, the Board of the Children's Parents, the Women Committee and the Youth Committee at Al Nuzha area.

Save the Children in Jordan has an impressive track-record of initiating and sustaining effective development programs that benefit children, youth and families. The organization has recently launched two new youth initiatives NASEEJ and NAJAH, under the patronage of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah.

With offices in 27 countries and projects in more than 100 countries worldwide, Save the Children focuses on creating real and lasting change for children around the world.

The Jordan programs include a focused attention on youth and young people as more than 70 per cent of the population in Jordan is below 30 years of age. Save the Children works to support early childhood development initiatives aimed at improving the quality of education and teams with parents to enhance parenting skills. Save the Children also promotes healthy behaviors as a partner in the 'Our Health, Our Responsibility' national health communications program.

The organisation continues to support the provision of credit to poor women though its partnership efforts with MicroFund for Woman, a Jordanian micro-credit organization that benefits hundreds of thousands of Jordanians every year.

GE maintains a long-established and highly successful corporate citizenship program with components in compliance and governance, human rights, health, safety and environment, supply chain, employee relations and community work.

Some of its successes in this arena include being ranked first for corporate governance in the Financial Times' annual 'World's Most Respected Companies' survey; a reduction in injuries and illness by five per cent and lost-time cases by eight per cent; global contributions of cash, products and services worth US$215 million for disaster and relief efforts; and GE volunteers donating more than one million volunteer hours for community and relief initiatives worldwide.