JEDDAH, 13 August — Officials and students of Al-Hekma International School have agreed to raise funds for the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), becoming one of the first Filipino groups in the Kingdom to respond to the humanitarian organization’s plea for help.
"The spirit of giving is not new to students of Al-Hekma International School," said Belma Regis, principal of the fastest-growing Philippine school in Saudi Arabia.
"Humanitarian activities and civic-mindedness are among the values that we want to inculcate in our students, and this Red Cross project simply fits the bill," she told Arab News.
Mrs. Regis said the project will be spearheaded by the Student Council, with a proposal that each pupil or student forego at least one snack and contribute the equivalent to a "community chest" that will be donated to the PNRC.
"We want the children to really experience the great feeling of sharing," she said.
Last June, the PNRC wrote the Philippine Embassy to ask for possible donations from Filipino community groups or individuals and other philanthropists.
Secretary-General Lourdes R. Loyola wrote that donations have been falling lately even as there are no end in sight for calamities affecting millions of Filipinos at home.
Loyola explained that the agency’s funding comes solely on public donation but the growing competition from other groups seeking help, plus the economic crisis and "donors’ fatigue" has resulted in more difficulties for the Red Cross.
Before leaving for his new assignment in Jakarta, then Ambassador Rafael E. Seguis endorsed the Red Cross request to the community.
Seguis noted that while the PNRC is the premier humanitarian organization in the Philippines, serving as an auxiliary arm of the government in providing relief, health and welfare aid to Filipinos in need, it is not subsidized by the Philippine government.
The PNRC has 86 chapters across the Philippine archipelago, providing service in terms of relief, blood, first aid and rescue, health and welfare.
It had been serving an average of 15 million "vulnerable" people, including victims of fighting, typhoons, earthquakes, fire, drought, and accidents. It has also a regular program for disadvantaged women and street children.
Apart from giving relief to those perennially affected by typhoons and floods, the Red Cross is now preparing for the dreaded El Niño, a Pacific-wide weather abnormality that brings drought to some areas, including the Philippines.
In l998, a similar long dry spell dried up rivers and thousands of hectares of farmland particularly in the Southern Mindanao, bringing starvation and dislocation to thousands of families.
The Red Cross worked hand-in-hand with government agencies in providing relief goods to those affected.
Mrs. Regis said she is aware of the continuing nature of the PNRC’s humanitarian projects, adding that donating to the agency must not be a one-shot deal.
"Giving must go beyond calamities," she also said.
With the Christmas holidays just months away, she feels that students from Al Hekma can also give in kind, like old clothing, toys and other items to their less fortunate brothers and sisters in the Philippines.
She also said that in emphasizing civics in addition to the pursuit of excellence, Al Hekma hopes to produce responsible citizens who will be depended on in caring not only for their families but in contributing to nation-building.
Established only four years ago, Al-Hekma International School opened with just about 200 pupils. Today, it has more than 800 students from pre-school to high school, of which 90 percent are Filipinos.
Al-Hekma is one of the nine schools accredited to teach the Philippine curriculum in the Kingdom. It student population is just about 400 shy from that of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ), which was established as an embassy school in 1982.
Parents at Al Hekma claim that the gap could have been smaller but the school this year had to put a ceiling in its enrolment as it still has to expand its facilities.
"We have to do it gradually," said one parent, who noted that most of the pupils/students from the Filipino community schools that have closed this year migrated to Al Hekma.
From its previous site in Radwa District, the school moved to a wider 860-square-meter campus in Azziziyah District.
The new site boasts of two spacious buildings, a separate 6-room pre-school building with its own gate and play areas, a basketball/volleyball gym, cafeteria, swimming pool, soccer field and lots trees that line its perimeter.