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    19-Jan-2017

Retiree reinvents herself by turning hobby into profession

 

The Jordan Times

 

ZARQA — Having retired after 20 years of working as a nurse, Ghada Al Khatib had sunk into depression, but the 48-year-old refused to give in and overcame the disease by actively engaging  and honing her skills to pick herself back up. 
 
The mother of five said she was married at an early age, immediately after finishing her education, a diploma in nursing, at the age 21. 
 
She said her now 51-year-old husband, Hussam, a holder of a General Secondary Education Certificate Examination degree and a partner in a car parts shop, had wanted to marry her since she was at school with a promise to let her finish her studies, and to work. 
 
Her mother was against this suggestion. 
 
Khatib was married after graduating from nursing school and later worked as a nurse at a public hospital in the governorate, 22km northeast of Amman, for almost 20 years. 
 
Reflecting on life in the governorate, the third in the Kingdom in terms of population, she described most of the inhabitants as either “very poor or just poor”.
 
Living in the second floor of a house owned by her in-laws, she said that everything she owns is either a gift from her family or her husband’s.
 
As retirement blues gave way to depression, help came in the form of the Savings and Loans Programme (SLP) by Care International in Jordan.
 
Khatib decided to make use of an old hobby of making accessories to ward off negative thoughts. 
 
Later, that hobby became the panacea to all her problems.
 
With the SLP programme, she not only honed her skills but also discovered and learnt many more, she said.
 
Khatib said she benefited from the many courses she took, especially sewing and cooking, but most of all she enjoyed the one that honed her talent in hand-made accessories.
 
The programme enabled her to make accessories and turn her hobby into a profession, which helped her progress both financially and socially. 
 
“There has been a lot to learn from the many courses we have studied and also the women and their stories,” said Khatib. 
 
She said she is making good use of the skills she has acquired to help other women in her neighbourhood. 
 

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