Rania Nashar, CEO of Samba Financial Group, one of the organizations that donated in the fight against coronavirus.
All over the world, non-profit organizations, businesses and charities are raising funds to provide medical supplies and ensure that people are adhering to government health guidelines to help halt the spread of COVID-19. Saudi Arabia is one of the major economies working towards detering the spread of this pandemic and mitigating its negative impacts. Here are some of the Kingdom’s organizations dedicating their time, money, and efforts to ensure that citizens are safe.
In the private sector, Samba Financial Group donated around $4.5 million to the Ministry of Health’s Health Endowment Fund in it’s battle against the coronavirus. Al Ahli Bank donated around $8.7 million and Riyad Bank, $4 million to the same fund. The money donated to the fund will go towards providing the medical equipment needed to deter the spread of the virus.
One of the Kingdom's charities, Ensan Charity Organization for Orphan Care launched a website for people to make donations online and to purchase a “protective basket” which contains masks, gloves and sanitizers.
With a lot of the donations being financial, during this time in lockdown and self-isolation, other businesses and entities are pledging to provide valuable services and goods free of charge to help those who can’t afford them. For example, with all schools and colleges facing shut down, students from low-income backgrounds may not have the access to online lectures and exams they need to continue their educations, and Jarir Bookstore has vowed to donate 10,000 laptops via official charities that are supported by the Ministry of Human Resources.
One resident of Unaizah, owns a taxi service business, and is distributing sanitizers, gloves and masks, and delivering medicines to people in her town free of charge. The resident, Maryam Bint Hamed Al Mutairi also stated to Arab News that she intends to keep this service free of charge and said, “It’s not the time to be thinking of profits. We have all benefited from the great bounty of our country, and it’s time to give back even a small part of what this country has given to us. There will be time enough to think of profit when all this is over.”
