JEDDAH, 8 September 2006 — Under an ambitious community project undertaken by Unilever Arabia and Beit Binzagr a new developed building for the King Faisal Primary School was inaugurated on Wednesday evening by Abdullah Althagafi, the general manager of the Directorate of Culture and Education in the Makkah region.
The building marks the first phase of a community project named “I love My School” that aims to improve the quality of education in Saudi Arabia by modernizing school buildings, facilities and equipping various laboratories with modern equipment.
The project also involves the holding of training courses and workshops for teaching and administrative boards of the school in addition to increasing the attachment of students and their parents to the school through organizing many social and sporting events throughout the school year. Althagafi said the private sector has a great role to play in developing the educational cycle along with the government. “The initiative of Unilever is a clear sign of that cooperation between the government and the private sector that aims to develop the country and the society,” he said.
Jan Zijderveld, Unilever Middle East chairman, said that Unilever takes education seriously and has pledged to support any future projects at King Faisal School as well as other schools. “It is a reflection of Unilever’s vitality and a genuine sense of social responsibility,” he said. He said, the launch of Unilever Consumer Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of the school development program, which provides educational institutions with learning facilities, is another step forward taken by Unilever as a part of its drive to further uplift the social-economic status of the community.
Wahib Binzagr, chairman of Beit Binzagr group of companies, said the program aims primarily toward strengthening the role of schools and teachers in the upbringing and education of young people and to increase their attachment to the school through the foundation of the ideal school. “There is a big responsibility on private sector companies toward the society in which they exist, “he said.
Ahmad Sindi, general supervisor of community service programs at Unilever Arabia, said that they have chosen the King Faisal School in Thaalibah district, south of Jeddah, as a first model for the project.
