JEDDAH, 28 March 2003 — Students of Al-Hekma International School in Jeddah are set to deliver a gift they promised eight months ago to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC).

The gift is a 5,000-riyal check (more than $1,300), which is in addition to several thousand-riyals worth of clothing, toys and books they sent last Christmas to the Red Cross in a campaign they aptly called “Gesture of Love.”

“It feels pretty good to donate to the Red Cross. We believe that in our own small way, we could help our disaster-stricken compatriots at home who are need help,” student Sarah Jane Catigan told Arab News.

Sarah Jane was this year’s most outstanding student of Al Hekma, bagging not only the valedictorian honors but also passing the tough entrance examination of the University of the Philippines. Last year, she was honored as a model student, school records show.

During the school’s recognition day recently, Sarah Jane received a free plane ticket to Manila, courtesy of Singapore Airlines, in addition to her gold medal.

But most of all, the school gave her the honor of leading Al Hekma’s student delegation that will take the school’s donation to the PNRC in Manila next month.

The delegation is to be accompanied by school principal Belma Regis. They are scheduled to meet the secretary-general of the PNRC on April 6.

Al Hekma’s Student Council was the first group in the Kingdom to respond to a call for help last year by the PNRC, which reported a slump in donations from its traditional sources owing to various factors.

Regis said many of their students even have to do away with snacks at certain days just to be able to contribute to the fund.

Teachers, parents and friends also chipped in, with Al-Hejaz Cargo of Felix Jordan and Jun Reyes even delivering the Student Council’s collection of clothes, toys and books to the PNRC free of charge.

Dr. Regis said they have made a commitment to make the fund-raising campaign for the Red Cross a continuing program of Al-Hekma International School.

She said the campaign is a good and practical way of teaching their students the virtues of “caring, sharing and giving.”

During the recognition day, Al-Hekma also honored its outstanding teacher, computer science instructor Elybeth Wagan, with a trophy and round-trip Manila-Jeddah ticket, also courtesy of Singapore Airlines.

Mario Marasigan, direct sales executive of Singapore Airlines, said the tickets they have given as prize for the outstanding student and teacher was in keeping with the airline’s “belief in excellence in the human spirit.”