JEDDAH, 3 February 2005 — Princess Sultana bint Ibrahim, the newly elected chairperson of the Women’s Welfare Center in Jeddah, says she is determined to make the charity organization an important conduit to serve Saudi families.
In an interview with a pan-Arab newspaper, she also revealed that there are more than 10,000 poor women in Jeddah alone and called for support from philanthropists to address their needs.
“We want to reorganize the center to play an effective role in society and make it an important channel for serving Saudi families. We want to help these families by carrying out a variety of programs,” the princess told Al-Hayat newspaper.
She pointed to the achievements made by the society over the past 30 years and commended the efforts of Princess Fowziya, former chairperson of the center, and its members in strengthening the organization, which was established as early as 1962 (1382H).
The charity takes care of children, orphans, people with special needs, the disabled and the sick. It also works to improve social and cultural awareness. “We have to redouble our efforts to achieve our objectives,” she added.
Princess Sultana proposed the establishment of investment projects to collect funds required for the center’s charitable projects and programs. She also emphasized the need to set up special funds for the care of orphans, the elderly, people with special needs, poor families, widows and divorcees.
The princess said she would work for activating the organization to extend more services to society including individuals and families.
“Our center works for uplift of women at religious, social, educational, cultural, health and economic levels,” she said.
The center also trains young women for employment in various jobs and conducts social, health and cultural awareness programs. “We provide utmost importance to the cultural development of women. We don’t hesitate to hold programs that would improve the condition of Saudi women,” she added.
Princess Sultana sees tremendous scope for charitable activities in the Kingdom. “There is nothing impossible in charitable work. If there is a will there is a way. If we know that there are more than 10,000 poor women in Jeddah alone, you can understand the amount of work we require,” she pointed out.
The women’s center has been working in a scientific and organized manner, Princess Sultana said. “We make strategic plans to address new social problems and developments,” she said and emphasized the center’s plan to develop its resources.
The new chairperson disclosed plans to establish committees of the friends of the sick, the disabled, orphans and people with special needs.
