- JEDDAH: About 11,000 old and used textbooks were distributed free of charge among needy students of the International Indian School-Jeddah by the Indian Cultural Society Jeddah (ICSJ) and Bazm-e-Osmania Jeddah, both organizations comprising Indian expatriates involved in social work for over two decades.
“About 15,000 old textbooks were collected, of which 4,000 had to be discarded because of their bad condition,” said Arif Quraishi, president of ICSJ and Bazm, adding that this year new notebooks were also given along with secondhand uniforms, bags and shoes.
The textbook collection drive took place last month, when parents and students were urged through newspaper announcements and posters to donate textbooks at certain locations in Jeddah.
Last week, once collected and sorted out, the books were distributed for two days among parents and students, some of whom came from as far as Makkah, Taif and Yanbu.