RIYADH, 30 June 2007 — Prince Musaed ibn Abdul Aziz and his son Prince Abdul Rahman donated SR1 million to the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) headed by Prince Sultan ibn Salman yesterday.
Accepting the contribution from the two princes, Prince Sultan said that it is yet another major donation to demonstrate the magnanimity of philanthropy.
“I am really encouraged by the response from all philanthropists who have donated toward this worthy cause and we anticipate more from kind-hearted individuals and establishments to carry out our activities in the Kingdom,” he said.
The association needs an annual budget of SR50 million to maintain its six centers in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Al-Jouf and Hail,” the prince said, adding that a foundation stone has been laid for another center in Abha and that construction work is to begin soon there.
The association looks after around 5,000 children, which includes 3,000 boarding in the centers and 2,000 coming as day students. It is estimated that the Kingdom has about 30,000 disabled children and only 10,000 have been brought under the care of social service organizations such as the DCA.
In a charity auction held last week, the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) raised SR5 million for the association. On a previous occasion, Saleh Kamel, chairman of the Dallah Albaraka, donated SR1 million to the Prince Abdul Majeed Endowment Complex in Makkah that will be maintained in aid of the DCA.
At present, the DCA has a reserve of SR14 million of the SR30 million required for the purchase of the endowment complex. The SR14 million included SR10 million from the association and another SR3 million donation from Prince Faisal ibn Abdul Majeed. Awadh Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general at DCA, told Arab News that the association depends mainly on donations given by Saudi philanthropists.
