Waste not, want not

Families in need will be receiving a supply of furniture at the end of this month as part of an environmentally-friendly caring campaign created by the Rotary Club of Salmaniya.

The Furniture Donation Programme is the brainchild of Rotary Club of Salmaniya past president Seema Baqi.

“We have become acquainted with many unfortunate families in Bahrain and we feel that this good quality used furniture could be donated to them,” explained Faisal Juma, the club’s vice president and public image chair.

“There are families from across Bahrain that cannot afford new items but need to replace worn and damaged furniture.

 “Our aim is to support as many of them as possible and also push for a kinder and sustainable mind-set. Instead of discarding perfectly useful furniture, donate it rather than create more waste.”

The furniture is only being collected from fellow club members at this time and each item is vetted before being distributed.

“This programme is very much in line with the Rotary Club of Salmaniya’s theme of ‘Reach’, which was created by president Hassan Al Mansoor,” said Faisal. “The theme is about reaching out to the community and working together to improve lives. The club would like to reach out and form partnerships with other societies and sponsors to better serve the community.”

The families that will be helped were met through previous projects such as the club’s yearly Ramadan Food Baskets distribution and its recent Sustainable School Bag Initiative. The ‘Sustainable Schoolbag Initiative – From Us to You’ was conceptualised by Seema, who is now the 2022-2023 community service director, to support underprivileged children whose parents can’t afford school equipment for the new academic year.

The Rotary Clubs of Salmaniya and Adliya, the Rotaract Club of Bahrain and Rotary Satellite Club of Manama Youth collected 188 school bags and lunch boxes from generous families all over Bahrain.

All items were cleaned up and sorted into tidy boxes and donated to the Tree of Life Society in Saar and Al Sanabel Orphan Care Society in Busaiteen.

“We have visited many homes over the past few days to find out what they require on the furniture front,” added Faisal.

The club continues in other directions too. It is currently working on the Green July project where its members are collecting single-use plastic waste and depositing it in the recycle bins at the Bahrain Association for Parents and Friends of the Disabled.

The waste, in turn, will be sold to a recycling facility and the money earned used to purchase wheelchairs for children.

“We also have the Summer Relief Programme where the club will donate a couple of new A/C units to families in need,” he added. “We also have in the pipeline free art classes for children with special needs, a Sustainable Farming Programme and a Back to School project.”

For more details, visit @rotarysalmaniya on Instagram.