JEDDAH, 21 June 2006 — In a rare initiative by citizens concerned about lack of open spaces, a group of Jeddawis formed the Friends of Jeddah Parks group to renovate public parks in Jeddah and inspire the youth to give back to their community.
The idea began six years ago with three mothers — Zakiah Bundagji, Sameera Niyazi and Salwa Ridwan — who wanted to do something about the state of the city’s open spaces such as parks, walking paths and playgrounds. Yesterday their efforts bore fruit with the signing of an agreement between the group and the Jeddah Municipality allowing them to take action.
“It’s very sad to see our children playing in the streets and poorly maintained parks,” said Ridwan. “It’s our role to ensure that there are places equipped for our children to feel safe and secure to play in and have a good time.”
The group aims to see that all of Jeddah’s districts have a friendly environment with well-maintained parks for all. They especially would like to inspire the youth about their responsibility in making a difference in their community.
“We want to provide them with areas where they can play, be active and hold events based on well-studied and practical projects that suit our environment and based on what the community needs,” she said.
The three mothers quickly gained the interest of leading businessmen and patrons of community support programs. “It took some time to gain people’s confidence and trust in the project, and Mayor (Adel) Fakieh was particularly supportive,” said Ridwan. “The projects are supported by donations from local businesses and volunteers.”
The agreement gives the group an opportunity to begin reconstruction and maintenance of eight parks. Al-Nuzla Park, in Jeddah’s south side, will be the first to get much-needed attention. It was selected because it is located in a heavily populated, economically depressed area with a high number of children. Work on Al-Nuzla Park has already started and is expected to be completed within a year. The renovation project will be sponsored by Al-Baik restaurant franchise.
Another project includes a playground for Faisal Public Park, designed by the Zuhair Fayez firm and developed by the Mohammed Osama Kabbani engineering company.
“We met with residents and asked them about what they need so that they can be involved and feel that the project serves their community,” said Ridwan.
The Friends of Jeddah Parks group is a non-profit organization made up of members from the private sector working under the umbrella of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Their main goal is to work together as a team to get lands for the construction of playgrounds and parks in Jeddah.
The group consists of Mohammed Hamad Fayez, chairman, Zakiah Bundagji, vice chairman, Khaled Almaeena, Rami Abu Ghazaleh, Sameera Niyazi Morad, Salwa Ridwan, Nashwa Taher, Aamer Alireza, Mazen Mirdad, David Joury and Iyad Fadul.
