JEDDAH, 4 April 2008 — Ektefaa, a new charity society devoted to collecting data on poorer districts and helping the people within them, was officially established on Monday under the supervision of The Society of Majed ibn Abdul Aziz for Development and Social Services.
The organization aims to establish database on the financial, social, health and educational conditions of poorer families in Jeddah and offer programs to help these people achieve self-sufficiency in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. The organization will also cooperate with various government and private groups.
The group’s director, Kholoud Al-Quthami, said Ektefaa has been collecting information through surveying local residents. “Our agents are sent to poor areas and districts to fill out forms about the conditions of families there,” she said. “The forms are revised, documented and then put into the database.”
She told Arab News that charity groups and those who are interested in helping the needy can then apply to access this database. “The process takes a couple of days,” said Al-Quthami. “However, in case of emergencies, the information can be sent immediately.”
Several districts have already been surveyed. Several emergency cases were discovered and those people were provided immediate assistance.
Group elections also took place on Monday. Al-Jawhara Al-Angari was elected as the president of the board and Jawahir Al-Qurashi was elected as the deputy president. Raeda Binladin was chosen as the secretary-general. Elham Qashlan was elected as the treasurer and Altaf Farsi as secretary.
