“The campaign was very successful last year when many volunteers gave away hundreds of chilled water bottles to street cleaners as charity. We thought continuing this campaign would be very beneficial to them since they have to work all day under the sun,” said Ghaith Al-Houti, a 17-year-old school student. “When you think of it, you’re spending a small amount of money but you are making deprived people happy with this simple gesture.”
The young activists are urging people to continue these efforts through the summer months. The Ministry of Labor issued an order in 2010 banning outdoor labor from noon to 3 p.m. in the months of July and August.
The law came into effect last Friday. Companies are supposed to arrange their outdoor employees' work schedules so that they rest during the hottest hours of the day.
Last year, young locals drove around Jeddah distributing cold water and juice to street cleaners and construction workers.
“The idea is to chill the bottles of water overnight and give them away in the morning on your way to work,” said local resident Ahmed Basrawi.
The campaign is utilizing social media and BlackBerry messaging to spread the word.
“I heard about this initiative from Facebook and I decided to do this every day for the whole year, because, when it comes to Saudi Arabia, every day is a summer day,” said Doha Saleh, a 20-year-old college student. “I believe this is a brilliant way to help those workers to keep them from fainting in the humidity and heat.”
