RIYADH, 14 March 2007 — Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chairman of the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) and chairman of the board of trustees of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR), said yesterday that it was important to change the views of people in Saudi Arabia toward disabled people.
Mentioning some of the challenges faced by both institutions, Prince Sultan said such a change could happen “only by giving disabled persons a chance to assimilate and mingle within their community and by promoting the culture of charity and voluntary work.”
Speaking at the symposium “Culture of Charity Work and How to Promote It” at the Second Conference on Volunteer Work in Riyadh yesterday, Prince Sultan called for future mechanisms to combine the efforts of charitable societies in the Kingdom where scientific research would pave the way for future agendas. Interior Minister Prince Naif inaugurated the conference on Sunday night.
Prince Sultan also said certain rules and regulations should be developed in which philanthropists would continue to support charity projects within an organized framework. He pointed out that volunteers are the backbone of many charitable institutions in the country.
“Through my experience working for two of the leading charitable associations here I have witnessed the development of the culture of voluntary work in the Kingdom in the past two decades,” he said.
He noted the importance of private institutions having a social responsibility and mentioned how the combination of efforts from both public and private sectors has helped in the Kingdom’s development programs. He said the people’s commitment to their faith and their sense of national duty were two main factors behind the establishment of hundreds of charitable societies in the Kingdom.
Maj. Gen. Musaed Al-Lihyani, press manager of the Civil Defense Directorate, called on attendees of the conference to adopt the idea of establishing a society that would register volunteers and deploy them based on the needs of each area.
He said by doing so, voluntary work in the Kingdom would be organized by it being under one roof. He also said the proposed society would have the responsibility of training volunteers on work ethics and rehabilitating them in addition to being responsible before authorities regarding regulations.
