JEDDAH: Nearly 50,000 people, mostly families, visited a trade and educational fair (Fete 2009), organized by the International Indian School, Jeddah, in order to raise funds for its poor students. About 100 companies, educational institutions, airlines and other organizations took part in the two-day show.
“The Fete 2009 was a big success by any standards,” said Akbar Batcha, chairman of the school’s managing committee and the main organizer of the event. “I am very happy because it was incident-free despite the presence of a large number of people,” he told Arab News.
He said the school authorities had sold more than 18,000 tickets to the public and that IISJ students were allowed in free of charge. “The money raised from the fair will be used only to support our poor students,” he said, adding that the target was to collect SR90,000.
The school provides 30 to 100 percent discounts to its poor students after evaluating their financial conditions. “Some deserved 50 percent reduction in fees, but we were able to give them only 30 percent due to financial constraints,” he said and hoped that the fund raised through the fete would help support more than 60 students this year.
The committee has set up a three-member panel to look into applications for fee concessions. “We receive several applications every month. We consider them in the light of certain criteria. Parents should submit salary certificates from their companies which have been attested by the chamber. We also take the observations of class teachers into consideration as well as students’ educational performance,” he explained.
“We don’t take a decision on the application abruptly. We wait and conduct a through investigation to make sure the applicant really deserves concession,” the chairman said.
Batcha said the fair was organized within a short span of time and praised the support of the Saudi Foreign and Education Ministries and the Indian Consulate as well as the efforts of the school’s staff and students.
“It’s not an easy task to organize such a huge event,” he said and he commended business organizations and community members for their wholehearted support.
He praised Mohammed Alungal, CEO of Al-Abeer Medical Group, who won the top prize (Tata Indica) in a lucky draw, for donating the cash value of his prize to the school.
“We are thankful to his generous gesture,” he added. Hundred and sixty-four people won fabulous prizes in lucky draws on Thursday and Friday.
Senior Indian community leader Rafiuddin Fazalbhuoy, one of the oganizers, was delighted with the overwhelming response. “The whole idea of organizing this fete was to help those children whose parents cannot afford school fees. There are so many expatriates who earn less than SR1,500 per month. For them it is very difficult to make ends meet,” he said.
Participating companies included Tata, KIA, Sadafaco, Central Point, International Perfumes, Al-Abeer Medical Center, Naseem Polyclinic, Al-Islam.org, Islamic Publishing House, Dunlop, Gulf Oil, Air India, Emirates, IGNOU, and National Commercial Bank. NCB used the event to promote its Quick Pay service. “You can send money through us to anywhere in the world using an ATM and a cell phone within one second,” said Altaf Hussein, customer service agent.
Educational organizations in Saudi Arabia and India also promoted their academic programs. “Many students in the Kingdom, especially girls, enroll in our courses,” said Dr. Shehnaz, a senior official of IGNOU, Saudi Arabia.
“The number of students in our centers has increased from 70 in 2004 to over 1,900 today,” she said, adding that four of its graduates have won gold medals for their academic performance.
