First Seenaryo Showbuild in Petra

teamArchie are thrilled that Seenaryo were able to put on their first ever showbuild last week in Wadi Mousa - the area where the historic city of Petra is situated. The idea came about through a local guide, Hani, who looked after James and Claire when they visited Jordan and the Seenaryo projects in October 2021. The need to inspire and motivate children in rural areas outside of Amman is significant. Poverty levels are extremely high and most children drop out of school early or attend in a very disrupted way because they go to work (making the most of Petra tourism opportunities), to support their families.

Work on the showbuild started on Sunday and by the Thursday evening the children had created an original piece of theatre with songs and dances that they had written themselves - the 5 days all happened very quickly! The final performance took place on the evening of Thursday 21st July in a garden next to the centre where they had been working all week. It had a beautiful little amphitheatre the children could perform in and, thanks to Hani and the local community, a wonderful audience of more than 200 people.  

We hope that having established initial connections and relationships in the area that this will be the first of many projects in Wadi Mousa. At the moment the Syrian and refugee children Seenaryo work with in Mafraq and Amman are not able to travel to Petra. It would be wonderful if, in the future, tours and exchanges could make it possible for children from different areas and backgrounds to create theatre together.