UNICEF Hajati Programme

Hajati (‘my need’) is a cash assistance for education program, which integrates school attendance monitoring, behavioral change communication, home visits and case management activities, aiming at reducing school dropouts. As of 2018, Hajati assisted over 50,000 children from over 19,000 households, providing families with 20 Jordanian dinars per month per child. 

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On behalf of UNICEF, Mindset performed several large-scale data collection exercises: The baseline study (2017) aimed at informing the humanitarian and development community in Jordan about the vulnerability of Jordan’s population, the Hajati Programme and the scale of need with regard to basic needs assistance, especially access to basic education. The subsequent two post-distribution monitoring exercises (for the 2017/18 and 2019/20 school years) helped to understand the reach of the program more thoroughly. Mindset effectively managed the field work, spanning from the training of enumerators to data collection through face-to-face surveys with over 8,000 individuals benefiting from the Hajati cash support program.

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For the research study (2019-2021), Mindset collected data to explore how the program contributes to UNICEF Jordan's key goals, such as enhancing children's education, nutrition, and overall well-being. The study sought further to answer the question of what valuable strategic and operational lessons could be drawn from cash-based programs in Jordan and similar contexts. The quantitative research relied on child surveys with questionnaires administered to children aged between 10 to 16 years belonging to the 25 most vulnerable households across 160 schools. In addition, in-depth interviews with 40 current and former beneficiaries were conducted. The areas of interest included decision-making regarding schooling, children’s work, and perceptions of Hajati.