Seventeen underprivileged families in Maan’s Shobak and Petra districts on Saturday received new houses as part of the Royal initiative for housing for underprivileged families, which was launched in implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives during his meetings with dignitaries of the governorate.

The initiative, which was launched in 2005, and covers all the Kingdom’s governorates, aims at providing decent and stable lives for beneficiary families that are chosen according to the Ministry of Social Development’s criteria, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Royal Court Chief Yousef Issawi handed over the keys of new houses to beneficiary families and toured the residences that were furnished and equipped with home and electrical appliances.

His Majesty King Abdullah visited Shobak in June and met with representatives of the local community, where he highlighted the importance of translating the ideas presented by them into action. His Majesty also urged stakeholders to follow up on these ideas and identify priorities to realise envisioned goals.

Issawi said that His Majesty pays utmost attention to improving the quality of life of Jordanians and upgrading the level of services to communities across the Kingdom, particularly segments going through difficult conditions, Petra reported.

The key handover ceremony witnessed full commitment to public safety rules due to the exceptional circumstances the Kingdom is going through due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Petra added.