JEDDAH: The Indonesian Consulate and community have been conducting their 70th Independence Day celebrations for the past three months by having different cultural and social activities.

On Tuesday, the consulate arranged a blood donation camp with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health as part of the celebrations. More than 100 Indonesian expatriates came to donate blood. The initiative was called “Share and care.”

Acting Consul General Dicky Yunus said: “We are very pleased to see Indonesian citizens coming to donate blood. The main objective of this program is to share and care. Blood donation is a very important part of our religion as its helps in saving lives.

“Since May, we started sports activities, religious activities, such as Qur’an recitation competition, performed Umrah together, held an Eid party, a fashion show for children, and, in the coming days, we will arrange an Indonesian culinary festival.”

Mohammed Masri, assistant at the Ministry of Health’s blood bank in Jeddah, said the annual blood donation camp organized by the Indonesian Consulate is a good move “because such campaigns always help us in providing blood that is needed in different hospitals in Jeddah.”

“Through such campaigns we try to target all communities to provide and donate blood which is needed and required in hospitals to save the lives of different people. Every day a number of people need blood; in one hospital, such as King Fahd Hospital, from 80 to 100 units of blood is transfused in patients every day. You can imagine how much blood we need on daily basis in all hospitals,” he said.