Jordan River Foundation
The Jordan River Foundation is a nonprofit organization, started in the early 1990s in Amman, Jordan to empower society, especially women and children, and in turn, improve the quality of life to secure a better future for all Jordanians. It was founded by Queen Nour Al Hussein, who was its first chair. After the death of her husband, King Hussein bin Talal, she left the position, which was taken over by Queen Rania Al-Abdullah.
Showroom
Located on Jabal Amman, the Jordan River Foundation showroom occupies the house built in the 1936 by Salim al-Odat. Odat rented the house to the British army throughout the 1930s to be used as offices. He sold it in 1939, after which it went through a number of owners in which it was used as a house, a police station, and a school during the 1960s. But in the 1980s, the house was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Then, at the end of the decade, when a potential buyer threatened to tear down the house, architect Zaid al-Qoussous bought it so as to preserve the house. In 1994, the house was bought and renovated by the Jordan River Foundation to be used as their showroom. Several companies and embassies contributed to the renovation:- USAID
- Embassy of Japan in Amman
- Canadian Embassy in Amman
- Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Australian Embassy
- Othman Mohamed Ali Bdeir
- Arab Technical Group
- Heating Supplies Company
- Technolinks
Bani Hamida Women's Weaving Project
Based in Mukawir, near Madaba, the project works to promote bedouin handicrafts and to improve economic and social well-being of bedouin women and children. The Bani Hamida handicrafts are displayed in the Jordan River Foundation showroom.