RIYADH, 20 October 2005 — The Disabled Children’s Association (DCA), a philanthropic organization under Prince Sultan ibn Salman which works for the rehabilitation of disabled children is the sole beneficiary of a new charity project launched by Mobily Tuesday night. Mobily subscribers can, for the first time, donate to a charity using short message service (SMS).
“Mobily subscribers can donate money to the DCA by using the ‘Charity SMS Service’ during the month of Ramadan,” said Humoud A. Al-Ghobaini, corporate communications manager. He said subscribers would be required to send an SMS authorizing Mobily to debit their accounts and transfer the money to the DCA on the customers’ behalf.
The DCA has emerged as a major non-governmental organization working to reintegrate disabled children into mainstream Saudi society. It has opened six world-class treatment and rehabilitation facilities in the Kingdom and is now planning to set up two more in the near future. The move is significant keeping in mind that an estimated 10 to 15 percent of the Saudi population are disabled.
Referring to the Charity SMS Service, Al-Ghobaini said the revenue would not be shared by Mobily. “A subscriber can become involved in this novel project by sending an SMS to a short code 6555,” he said. “The use of this service does not incur any additional cost for the subscriber (except for the donated amount),” he explained. The special service is expected to end on Nov. 1.
Al-Ghobaini said this was the first SMS donation program by a company in which the entire amount will go to the charity. Mobily will also take care of the charity project’s publicity costs, which include print advertisements and billboards. It is also sending SMS messages to its subscribers encouraging them to donate.
Al-Ghobaini said Mobily would launch other charity projects immediately after Ramadan. The company has already decided to donate money raised by auctioning special numbers favored by businessmen and VIPs to charities and medical centers in the country.
