JEDDAH, 22 July 2007 — Effat College and Dallah Albaraka Holding Company signed a memorandum of understanding at the college’s campus recently.
“This deal aims to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations and achieve mutual objectives,” said Haifa Jamalallail, dean of Effat College.
Nadia Baeshen, general manager of the Corporate Social Responsibility Department at Dallah, said the department came into being on March 1.
“This was the initiative of Chairman Saleh Kamel who wanted to draw a line between the concept of charity and the concept of social responsibility,” said Baeshen.
“This only marks the beginning of an era of cooperation between Effat College and Dallah Albaraka,” said Jamalallail. “This initiative will be followed by many agreements in different fields. There will be more applied programs in the future.”
The memorandum included several sections. The first calls for cooperation in higher education by holding workshops and conferences aimed at developing curricula and supporting students by giving them financial support and educational grants.
The second section pertains to social cooperation through volunteer and group work aimed at saving the environment and other natural resources by holding programs for the youth of both genders.
The third section calls for utilizing information technology and computers in higher education with a view to offering more job opportunities after graduation.
The fourth section of the memorandum relates to professional training for women so that they can find suitable jobs.
The fifth section aims to prepare a new generation of Saudis by exposing them to local and international conferences.
The sixth section calls for greater international cultural exchange. Visiting students, whether from the West, Islamic or Arab countries, will have their expenses paid.
According to Baeshen, Kamel wants to make sure that the Social Responsibility Department is kept separate from the Iqra charitable entity. “Iqra’s budget depends on donations from people while the Social Responsibility Department’s budget comes from within the company,” she said.
