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ONE of Bahrain’s leading charities is celebrating its 10th anniversary with plans to ensure some of the kingdom’s most vulnerable children are continually offered the best chances in life.
The Royal Charity Organisation, established by His Majesty King Hamad, has put in place a strategy for the next decade to ensure that the plight of the island’s orphans, widows, and others suddenly finding themselves in dire need, does not go unnoticed.
His son, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, chairman of the board of trustees, said: “The aim is to stand by the needy people, be it as an individual or as an organisation, assisting them and providing them with the necessities to make ends meet and have a generous standard of living.
“The role of the organisation is not confined to a specific field. It will target all kinds of needy people covering all sorts of demands.”
His Majesty first established the Orphans Sponsorship Committee in July 14, 2001, specifically to support orphans. In November, a royal decree was issued to look after widows as well and then in 2007 the committee was renamed the Royal Charity Organisation to focus on all charitable acts on the island.
The King was then named the honorary president and a board, made-up of prominent individuals, was created including the Secretary General, Dr Mustafa Al Sayed and vice-president Shaikh Adnan bin Abdulla Alqattan.
Its mission is to sponsor orphans, widows and care for the elderly and those with special needs. According to Noor Ahmed, public relations specialist, there are about 5,000 orphans and widows and 10,000 needy individuals registered with the organisation.
She said: “Charity work is not limited to anyone. Yes, this is the King’s organisation and we have a sufficient amount of funds from His Majesty, but his vision is to have everyone joining hands and working together for the greater good. Whether you’re a company, an individual or even a teenager that wants to lend a helping hand, help and donations are always welcome and never limited.
“We encourage the community to get involved. In fact, we have even had teenagers donating BD10 from their savings to help others less fortunate than themselves.”
Orphans and widows are provided with a monthly salary along with medical, developmental, educational and psychological care. Miss Ahmed added: “We have separate departments dedicated to each issue. It is up to the education department, for example, to make sure our children have seats at universities once they have graduated. We make sure that our orphans have the best education. Many private schools and even universities donate seats to them.
“Our health department deals with appointments. We contact the hospital and handle the costs. We also have an excellent team of psychologists and counsellors to help children with abandonment issues and any questions they have.
“Orphans are offered fun days out to the movies of their choice and widows are given vouchers for groceries and even the opportunity to visit salons and restaurants.
“We basically want to provide those in need with nothing but the best and in particular, try to integrate the orphans within the community.”
The association offers social care, emergency and medical treatments to the needy as well as assistance with marriage.
Miss Ahmed explained: “Every case is different and is evaluated accordingly. Say a house burns down. The father makes BD200 a month and his wife BD100. How are they meant to rebuild their home with such funds? It is up to us to help them.
“We also help with medical treatment for severe cases. We want to ensure a good standard of living for all our people. We provide workshops to train individuals and help them develop their abilities to find suitable employment.”
Within 10 years the organisation has managed to raise BD10 million for a variety of development projects and also honoured 250 students for their outstanding performances at university.
As part of its ambitious strategic plans the society hopes to build a nursery school in every district. They have started building the Bahrain National Institute for Vocational Training Centre in the Jaw area and have allocated land for an agricultural project for people with special needs.
They are also working on the family accommodation project, which will provide a safe haven for widows until they can get access to more permanent homes.
Aside from providing national aid, the association has offered finances and shipment of products to the desperate people living in Ghaza and Pakistan.
Dr Al Sayed, said: “We also have a responsibility to the generation that is coming. We cannot limit ourselves to our own families and our communities. We have to address this as far as we possibly can.”
Meanwhile, the charity will be holding an arts festival in the near future as well as a fun day out for orphans and widows.
If you would like to make a donation contact the public relations office in Seef at 17313693 or visit www.royalcharity.org.bh for more information.
