Grannies on the Ground

Read about Questscope's economic empowerment work with women in the south of Jordan.
Muthanna Khriesat

Hurricane on the horizon, rainstorms on the street. 

The hurricane is in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people killed by bombs. More tens of thousands dying by starvation, just 230 miles from Aqaba, port city in the south of the Jordan. 

That hurricane is always on everyone’s minds. Always. But the storms of hunger on the streets in Aqaba are up close and personal, daily. 

Palestinians who were refugees in Syria are now refugees in Jordan – “double refugees.” Low-income Jordanians face the same catastrophic economics that keep families hungry and humiliated. 

But, there are grannies with good vibes in Aqaba. Whew! In 2016, Questscope joined these women in their Harmony Center to provide food-vouchers for 14-year-old daughters not to be traded as child brides to feed their brothers and sisters. 

These grannies and moms are our “unexpected” entrepreneurs: Syrian women who are the very best cooks, ever! Questscope funded an oven, fridge and freezer for a catering business instead of vouchers. And cater they did! Which led to income and freedom to think about a different future – 75 women so far. Catering was about so much more than good cooking. 

Catering kitchens run fast and hot – lots of different things going on to get a product out the door. So, a generation of refugee women acquired management skills in a niche food industry, now focusing on a new range of products for... 

Vegans. What?! A vegan market in Jordan? New and trendy! But also ancient and trendy. The Orthodox Christian community in Jordan goes on meatless, dairy-less fasts on a regular basis. 

So, double-refugee Syrian-Palestinian women and local low-income Jordanian moms, primarily from Muslim heritage, will now produce, in their own tasty way, vegan menus in a business that will cater to schools, churches and to lots of “random vegans” who don’t have to be Orthodox!

You can’t dream this stuff up. There are too many impossibles to pull together. Unless you team with grannies on the ground who have the local vibe and the global heart for freedom and dignity for all those caught up in storms and wary of that massive hurricane on the horizon.

8 Aug23 Muthanna Headshot
Chief Executive Officer

Muthanna Khriesat

Muthanna Khriesat is the Chief Executive Officer of Questscope.  

In 1999, Muthanna joined Questscope as a volunteer and was exposed to a community of youth detached from society and in need of positive social change. Since then, he has dedicated his work to helping create social, educational, and entrepreneurial opportunities for marginalized youth. 

In his early years with Questscope he held various positions for Questscope related to knowledge management and administrative leadership, including program director for mentoring disadvantaged youth, as well as Chief of Party for a USAID-funded alternative education program for out-of-school youth. 

The extensive experience he earned through those various roles along with his dedication to furthering positive change in the MENA region led to his appointment as Jordan country director in 2010, and then Regional and Jordan Country Director in 2015. 

He continued to excel within Questscope, eventually leading to him becoming the first Chief Operating Officer of Questscope in 2020. In April, 2022, Muthanna succeeded Dr. Curt Rhodes to become the second Chief Executive Officer of Questscope.  

Muthanna is looking forward to taking Questscope to the next level and serving even more people than before. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Princess Sumaya University of Technology in Amman, Jordan. He also has the distinct honor of being a 2021 Yale World Fellow. 

He resides in Minneapolis with his family and splits his time with Jordan.

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