His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, sponsored the annual ceremony of the Benaa Association for Orphan Care in the Eastern Province at the Kempinski Al Othman Hotel in Al Khobar Governorate.
His Highness the Emir of the Eastern Province said, “The support and interest given by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, may God protect them, in terms of support and interest in orphans in particular, is a matter of pride. Supporting such associations specializes in helping and following up on those who have lost their breadwinners, touching on their needs, and empowering them is a priority that we see has an impact on the beneficiary sons and daughters.”
His Highness added, "I am pleased to be with you at the beginning of this holy month at the annual ceremony of the Benaa Association. This association has achieved successes in the field of serving orphans and has provided commendable services to the beneficiaries through human development and investment in it, as it is the true wealth of this nation."
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Building Society, Engineer Khaled Al-Zamil, gave a speech in which he said:
I am pleased to stand among you this evening and seize this opportunity to extend my congratulations to you on the occasion of the advent of the month of goodness and mercy, asking God to help us all in fasting and performing prayers, this month in which everyone competes to gain the satisfaction of the Most Gracious, the Almighty, and this meeting is only one of the acts of goodness. This presence is the best evidence that the goodness in this country multiplies year after year, in light of the generous support of a leadership that has made humanity its first goal.
He added, "The government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz - may God protect them - are keen to advance the non-profit sector and make it achieve a positive impact and contribute effectively to raising the domestic product and achieving the goals of the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030. Therefore, we were keen in the Bena Association to develop our work and keep pace with the great development that this sector is experiencing in order to reach the highest and most important goal, which is to provide distinguished services to orphans."And their families and to contribute to overcoming the difficulties that an orphan may face and that may deprive him of achieving his ambitions. We were keen to build the fabric of the family that lost its breadwinner and help the mother overcome the difficulties she faces in raising her children. Praise be to God, we were able, through integration with the public and private sectors and universities and with fruitful partnerships, to achieve strategic goals that had a direct impact on the beneficiary.
He said: “In 2023, the Bena Association spent more than (80) million riyals on projects and initiatives that contribute to the integrated care of orphans in the fields of education, health, housing, religious care, entertainment, and quality of life. In the field of basic care and sponsoring orphans, the association spent in 2023 more than (15) million riyals, and in the fields of education and educational scholarships, the number of which exceeded (140) distinguished male and female students studying in scientific specializations.”It is promising in engineering, medicine, computers, and artificial intelligence, in addition to academic follow-up for male and female students in their schools in cooperation with the Education Department, as well as the service of registering them in electronic educational platforms to raise their academic levels and provide them with electronic devices. In terms of health, orphans in the Benaa Association receive medical insurance, praise be to God. The association has a success story in the field of housing, as the tripartite partnership with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing and the National Housing Foundation has resulted in the purchase, ownership and furnishing of more than 415 homes.A housing unit for orphans and their families during the years 2022 and 2023 AD. Thus, the percentage of orphans and their families owning housing increased from 36% to exceeding 63%, at a cost exceeding 63 million riyals, with God’s grace and then with your support and giving. We were also able, thanks to God, to provide the purchase of more than (214) cars for orphans within a taxi project for male and female students in the university stage, so that the car is a source of income and sufficiency for the orphan through his work in vehicle steering applications.In agreement with these applications that have provided facilities and features to our orphan children that contribute to their continued study and self-reliance, this is a small part of the many programs and projects through which we seek to achieve our goal, which is to build people and make them able to rely on themselves through preparing and training them, in the belief that investing in people, building their capabilities, and developing their skills is the first goal that we seek to achieve.
At the end of his speech, he thanked His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, for his sponsorship of the ceremony and His Highness’s support for the association’s programs and activities and for all attendees and supporters.
The audience then watched a visual presentation about the permanent sponsorship project (uninterrupted wages), and His Highness, the sponsor of the ceremony, inaugurated the Basma Watan platform, the project that contributes to treating orphans’ teeth throughout the Kingdom. It is a national project that aims to alleviate the suffering of orphans, male and female, who benefit from the services of associations and cooperate with dental treatment centers to treat them for free.
Then His Highness honored the supporters, sponsors of the ceremony and partners in success.He received a souvenir presented by the association.