JEDDAH, 21 December 2006 — Twelve students from Dar Al-Hekma College for Women will join 12 other students from Harvard University at the regional Habitat for Humanity office in Amman, Jordan, to build a house for a family at a location outside Amman.
From March 24 to April 2, 2007, the students will live together in one camp, build this house and attend seminars and workshops on the Habitat for Humanity program launched by former US President Jimmy Carter.
“It will be a real challenge for the girls but many are already signing up to participate, and at Harvard they are having a lottery to choose who will go because of the large number of students wanting to participate,” said Saleha Abedin, director of general education, academic advancement and international institutional relations at Dar Al-Hekma.
Dar Al-Hekma College is in the process of establishing a center for research in cooperation with Harvard University. “We will cooperate on joint research projects, summer programs and 30 of our students will spend the summer there,” Abedin told Arab News. Also, under negotiation with Harvard University, is the establishment of two prizes of achievement in a certain area, one for a Saudi woman and the other for an American woman.
Other upcoming events at Dar Al-Hekma include the opening of the Banking and Finance Department in January and an entrepreneurship workshop by the Women Presidents of American Businesses organization that will probably take place in April.