JEDDAH: A group of young Saudis took it upon themselves to collect new and used clothes and give them away to the needy who cannot afford to buy clothes for the Eid.
Nasser Bilbissi, a 21-year-old college student, said that he and his friend Husam Bagadir thought it would be the perfect social charity effort for the season.
Bilbissi, who has been a charity volunteer for three years, managed to collect a database of needy families around Jeddah.
“My group managed to borrow an empty house from its owner last week and we personally cleaned the yard and prepared it for hosting the needy families,” he said.
He sent a notice through the social networking site Facebook requesting people to donate new or used clothes for this project.
“The reply was overwhelming,” he said, adding that they have collected a good amount of clothes for all ages.
It took the group of 30 volunteers about three days to clean the villa’s yard, which is located in Palestine Road. They also categorized and folded the clothes and started calling the families to come and collect their Eid gifts.
More than 350 needy families came to the location in a span of three days. “We have been working in organized groups to ensure that every person receives his share of clothing,” he said.
He said that the giveaways included other items: “Some people requested some medicines and medical equipment, which we managed to provide at the location.”
The event, which ended on Friday, is one of many ongoing events organized by the same group. Bilbissi said that his group would hold a program on the second day of Eid for the orphans where they would take them out on trips and give them gifts to make them feel the joy of the festive month.
Previously the group did similar clothing distribution projects and many other Ramadan-related charity work.
“We try to utilize our energies and free time as youths to help in developing our society and strengthening the social ties within our communities,” Bilbissi said.
