JEDDAH: A group of young Saudis launched a campaign to collect copies of the Holy Qur’an to be distributed in the rural areas of the Kingdom and in Yemen.
The volunteers are members of a private advocacy group called Paint a Smile, formed by two young college students.
Nasser Al-Bilbissi, one of the two founders of the group, said many people have extra copies of the Qur’an at home that are not used. Since many people in rural areas have no copies of the holy book, the group decided to launch the campaign that urges people to donate their extra copies of the Qur’an, he said.
The collection process starts today and will last until Friday. Volunteers will be posted at Bonnon Coffee shop branches on Prince Sultan and Tahliah streets between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to collect the donated books.
“We have posted a notification on our Facebook group urging people to call on their friends and families to donate spare copies of the Qur’an,” he said. “Our goal is to collect 1,500 copies of the Qur’an during the campaign,” he said.
Bilbissi said his group has a database of locations and people who would distribute the copies of the Qur’an to villages in Yemen and some areas in the Kingdom.
“We know areas that have only one old copy of the Qur’an for schools and mosques,” he said.
Since its establishment in June 2008, the group has been holding charity events and has attracted a large number of volunteers. Bilbissi and Husam Bagader, the co-founders of Paint a Smile, are continuously working in their spare time to plan new events that could support needy families, orphans and people with special needs.
