Recently, the philanthropists started establishing their own charities which are used as channels for funding development projects like building hospitals, schools, roads, holding medical camps and sending students abroad for studies. In the past they used to send donations to their agents — mostly individuals — and the money was spent on building mosques or giving cash handouts to the poor.

There are three pioneer charities: The Charitable Fund for Supporting Outstanding Students (CFSOS), Hadramout Establishment for Human Development (HEHD) and Al-Awn Foundation for Development (AFD) founded by Saudi businessmen who are descendants of tribes in Hadramout.

CFSOS head Omer Bamahsoun told Arab News that the CFSOS was founded in 1989 and that the first group of supported students were sent to the American University in Cairo and to universities in Jordan.

“Human development is the cornerstone of building nations,” said Bamahsoun.

At the outset, the CFSOS primarily focused on supporting students in medicine and engineering. More recently it has moved into other fields, like media, law and marketing.

The CFSOS has also established an alumni association comprising students who were financially supported by the organization. It helps in finding jobs for its members and sponsors free medical camps in the destitute areas of Hadramout, Mahra and Shabwa.

Bamahsoun refused to reveal the names of the financial supporters.

“The sponsors are a group of Saudi philanthropists who don’t want to be identified,” he said.

“The philanthropists are looking for means that will ensure that their money do not fall into the wrong hands. The institutional work is continuous while those done through individuals doesn’t last long,” he added.

The AFD was established by the sons of late Salem Bin Mahfouz, a well-known Saudi businessman, in 2006. The board of trustees appointed an executive in Mukalla and employed dozens of young local graduates. As a nonprofit organization, the AFD aims at sustainable development in the field of health through a series of planned projects and programs, believing in the importance of social partnership with government, nongovernment and international organizations.

The AFD recently started a project to reduce the dropout rate of students in Hadramout province. The families with dropouts aged 7 to 16 were identified and fathers of about 100 families are being given seed money to start micro-businesses in return for commitment to keep their kids in school. Girls schools are also being constructed by the AFD.

In the remote village of Doan, where most girls used to leave school early, the foundation built a girls school run by female staff.

Now, many girls are due to complete secondary school level. As part of its program to improve school environment, Yemen's Minister of Education Abdu Sallam Al-Jufi opened in April English Language Village in Mukalla.

The foundation also supports free medical camps and campaigns to fight epidemics. Millions of dollars have been pumped into these humanitarian projects.

The HEHD, established by a group of Saudi businessmen during the visit of Crown Prince Sultan to Mukalla in 2006, also tackles education projects in Hadramout. Under the HEHD, scores of students have been sent to international universities in Jordan, Malaysia and Canada. Before traveling abroad, students take English-language courses. The HEHD established two schools for gifted secondary male students in Hadramout. Only students who scored above 90 percent are allowed to join the schools. A similar program is being introduced for girls.

The founders are Abdullah Bugshan, Abdullah Salem Bin Mahfouz, Abdullah Bahamdan, Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi and Hassan Mohammed Bin Laden.

“Thanks to munificent Saudi businessmen, many charitable schemes have been launched,” said Darwish Sawid, head of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor branch in Hadramout.

“Their role in health, social and education is very evident. Their charities are under the supervision of our office,” he said.

Sawid pointed out that this shift toward education and health initiatives from mosque-building projects is due to the fact that there are sufficient places of worship in the region. The official estimated that there are about 20 Saudi-backed charities in Hadramout.

These charities have created many jobs for the people in Yemen. “The most prominent philanthropist is Abdullah Ahmed Bugshan. He has financed hundreds of Yemeni students studying inside the country and abroad and also encourages other Saudi businessmen to come to Yemen to launch altruistic projects,” Sawid said.