Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday ordered the payment of SR 1.36 billion in financial assistance to all poor individuals and families registered for social insurance to meet their Ramadan needs.
Social Affairs Minister Yousuf Al-Othaimeen said the amount would be disbursed among the beneficiaries soon after it is deposited in the social insurance account.
The minister commended King Abdullah’s humanitarian gesture, adding the royal assistance would be received by the elderly, widows, divorcees, orphans and those abandoned by their families.
Meanwhile, UNESCO has commended King Abdullah for his support to humanitarian activities in the region in general and for displaced Syrians in particular, said an official of the United Nation’s subsidiary in the Gulf.
UNESCO representative to the Gulf region Ibrahim Al-Zeiq in a statement stressed the significance of collaboration between UNICEF and the Kingdom in the field offering protection to children in areas hit by various calamities, Al-Hayat daily reported yesterday.
“This collaboration has resulted in providing protection to less fortunate children in regions such as Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Al-Zeiq said.
He referred to the king’s recent call to help the Syrian refugees, which resulted in the collection of over SR 500 million under a national fundraising campaign. The first Saudi convoy of 43 trucks carrying relief materials arrived in Jordan on Sunday after leaving Riyadh Thursday night.
Al-Zeiq said UNICEF is a nonprofit organization that aims to ensure better living conditions for needy children in areas hit by conflicts or natural calamity, or those deprived of basic amenities as a result of their economic, social or political circumstances.
He underscored the pioneering role of the Saudi leadership to provide full support for UNICEF.
In a related development, the Islamic scholars and researchers from various African countries who are participating in a Dawa (call to Islam) forum in Madinah also lauded the continuous efforts of the Saudi government and Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, in the service of Islam and Muslims.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Islamic scholar from Chad Hajjar Ahmed lauded the Kingdom’s pioneering role in organizing the Islamic forum, which served as a link between the Kingdom and African countries.
Sudanese religious leader Abdul Munim Khalifa also commended the efforts of the king to serve the Muslims in Africa.
Rector of the African College of Islamic Studies in Senegal Muhammad Loh said the annual forum organized in the Kingdom offered African scholars an opportunity to exchange ideas and suggestions in topics related to Dawa.
