Saudi students’ club in Oregon offers furniture to newcomers

Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Saudi students in the US and other countries never stop their happy surprises which make their families, relatives and friends proud of them. Among others, these surprises include recognized prizes, patent researches, excellence in education, good mannerism and acts of bravado. A happy surprise is awaiting the Saudi students who are enrolled in Oregon State University. They can get furniture at its cost price instead of buying expensive new ones. This was revealed to Saudi Gazette by Turki Bin Ayed Al-Turki, the chairman of the Saudi Students’ Club in Oregon State University who was on a recent visit to Jeddah. “We have come up with a new idea to help the old and new students bear the rising cost of living. We are selling them furniture at nominal prices while enabling other students to get rid of their excessive furniture,” he said. Turki said they have rented a warehouse in a building with a majority of Saudi tenants and started receiving furniture donated by old students to resell to other students, especially newcomers, at nominal prices. “The new furniture is highly costly. Furnishing of an apartment will cost the students very much and deplete their budgets particularly that they may be just starting their life in America,” he said. Turki was elected chairman of the club at the beginning of last year’s summer. He is studying engineering. He noted that a large number of students come for short terms to study English language before returning home or travel to other areas in the US. “Therefore they will not need to buy new furniture since their stay may not be long,” he said. He added that the largest chunk of students, particularly those studying the language, come to the country during Autumn and leave at the end of Spring or Summer. Turki said the club has bought a van to transport the donated furniture to the warehouse and the sold items to the homes of students. “We have, therefore, served both the donator and the buyer,” he said. The chairman said the Saudi students in Oregon had positively and quickly responded to the initiative and added that the warehouse was filled with furniture in a record short time. “We use the sales revenues to pay the rent of the warehouse, buy gas for the van and organize social get-together for the Saudi families,” he said. He said trading activities usually drop in summer when students go home for their vacation but it picks up with the start of every new semester. “During the slow period, we offer big discounts so that the commodities do not stay long in the warehouse and we have space for more furniture,”he said. Turki commended the ethical behavior of Saudi students in Oregon and said it is a role model which is a source of pride for the students themselves, their families and the homeland.