Not so long ago, Manal, a 19-year-old was   young woman, was a  high school dropout from Karak (130 km to the south of Amman). After failing the high school “Tawjihi exam”, she was­­ subject to emotional violence at home by her father, who kept calling her “a failure”. She found no support or encouragement whatsoever to change her status quo in the family and she felt helpless. She thought, she’d always be a failure for the rest of her life. With no education, her choices are limited; so she will have to remain idle at home, or be a survivor of arranged marriage while everybody else has a life. However, one day Manal found courage and approached the Institute for Family Health (IFH) center in Karak supported by UNFPA with a friend to attend a youth awareness session. the youth educator noticed her hostility, sadness and negativity and with her consent she was referred to a counsellor working in the center. Before long, Manal was keen on not missing any of her psychosocial support sessions along with the empowerment activities, which introduced her to the world of soap making.

Manal found her passion in making soaps. With a lot of trial and error, she found a way to better her skill and products as well. Until, she finally came up with a unique recipe for soap making, which was complemented by the lovely bar molds and matching pleasant scents she carefully chose.

To take her business to the next level, Manal wanted to spread her soap making knowledge. Hence, she was invited by Princess Basma Center to conduct a training for women and adolescent girls, as well as other NGOs in the area which were huge successes for her.

Manal now has secured a steady income from her soap business; she is marketing her products through her Facebook Page, and is attending local bazars whenever she can. Emotional abuse and psychological violence at home halted and Manal feels she has a purpose in life now and she can help others to learn skills that boost their self-confidence and can eventually generate income.