RIYADH, 16 June 2003 — The Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz Foundation for Housing and Development began as a vision of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, three years ago. The whole idea was to help the people — especially those in remote and underdeveloped areas — to receive assistance to build their individual communities and also enjoy a comfortable and self-sufficient lifestyle.
Crown Prince Abdullah’s idea was to establish a charity as the means of achieving an independent life through the people’s own efforts.
According to Dr. Yousef A. Othaimeen, secretary-general of the foundation, the crown prince’s vision has been implemented over the last three years but only after extensive research and surveys were carried out to identify the Kingdom’s needy and deserving citizens.
The project itself called for the “establishment of a charitable institution aimed at securing appropriate housing units for the most needy categories in Saudi society and launching benevolent housing projects for the benefit of the people of the homeland.”
According to Dr. Othaimeen, the aim is to encourage the citizen to develop an independent outlook and achieve self-sufficiency in making a suitable life for himself. The idea of contributing in cash rather than in kind encourages dependency which is not healthy for an independent lifestyle or the wish to work to develop and progress. Thus the foundation incorporates the crown prince’s vision of providing the necessities of life so that people can concentrate on building their communities and developing skills that will eventually sustain them.
“What we aim to provide is housing, health, education, job training and opportunities, communication, and basic amenities so that a community is free to utilize its skills and resources to develop and become self-sufficient economically and socially,” said Dr. Othaimeen.
At the request of the crown prince, approval for the foundation was given by the king. A committee of experts consisting of economists, sociologists, architects, businessmen, prominent citizens, Islamic scholars and educationists determined the areas most in need of help.
In addition to the crown prince, the committee includes Prince Khaled ibn Abdullah; Iyad Madani; Prince Bandar ibn Salman ibn Muhammad; Saleh ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Al-Hosain; labor and social affairs minister; minister of municipal and rural affairs; Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al-Tasan; Abdul Aziz ibn Rashed Al-Rashed; Ibrahim ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Blehi; Hisham ibn Ahmad Yousuf Zainal Alireza and Ibrahim ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Mudaimeegh.
According to Dr. Othaimeen, the idea is to encourage self-help and discourage dependency. “The way of Islam is to provide the means to the end. It’s like the story of the man who asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to give him an ax so he could chop wood in order to use it,” Dr. Othaimeen pointed out. It is the Islamic concept of self-help for self-dignity that the project aims at.
A number of areas have been chosen for the first phase of the project in consultation with experts, community leaders and governors of the regions. According to the statute of the foundation, the aim is to secure appropriate housing for the most needy categories in Saudi society in order to enable them to become productive members, participating in the development of their local environment as part of the Kingdom’s comprehensive development.
The foundation will also conduct studies to develop the means of accomplishing its objectives and ensuring its administration and financing. The beneficiaries are selected in order of priority, according to criteria defined in the rules and regulations of the statute.
The recent visit of the crown prince to some of the slums of Riyadh, according to Dr. Othaimeen, helped to crystallize what had been realized and pointed out by Prince Abdullah three years ago and became the basis of the need to implement the program.
To encourage self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction is a greater charity than to encourage one to be dependent on financial aid and hand-outs. Dr. Othaimeen pointed out that the “addiction to monetary hand-outs” is harmful to one’s self-esteem and independence.
Another aspect of the project is that the people who will benefit from it will not have to relocate. Local people are extremely possessive of their traditional habitat and environment. It is difficult to move them from their place of birth, so this project is taken to the area and the people are relocated within their surroundings through the development and rebuilding of what already exists.
