New TV program aims to help raise funds for charity

RIYADH: A new program called “Al-Khair Yagmana” or “Gathering for Happiness” will be launched during Ramadan on Al-Margab Saudi TV to raise funds for humanitarian institutions.
“The aim is to help the needy, the poor, the sick and orphans for them to know that society cares for them and want to make them happy,” Islamic scholar and TV host Mohsin Shaikh Al-Hassan told Arab News on Friday.
The program will be aired four nights a week from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. from the Holiday Inn Palace in the Saudi capital. There will be 30 institutions participating in the program.
“These institutions will give donations to be part of the financial pool to be donated to charity. They will call on others to do their share in giving love during Ramadan,” he said.
He added that the program will count on some 5,000 local institutions known for their humanitarian activities and duly-recognized by the Ministry of Social Services.
These include Insan (which helps orphans), Sinad (which helps children sick with cancer), and associations for the blind, and disabled children headed by Prince Sultan bin Salman.
Al-Hassan added that the program will also include famous individuals in various sectors like sports, the arts, music, literature, journalism and the military.
“In football, we invited as participants Al-Hilal, Al-Nasser, Al-Shabab, and Al-Riyadh in the Saudi capital to participate in the program. We likewise invited Al-Ettihad and Al-Ahli clubs in Jeddah and Al-Wahda in Makkah,” he said.
“From the military, we may invite Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri,” he said.
Al-Assiri, a consultant and adviser to the minister of defense, has become famous as the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition to restore the legitimate government in Yemen.
“Because they are well-known and famous, we believe that they can attract donors for a good and humanitarian cause,” Al-Hassan said.