Adnan Shabrawi and Ameenah Al-Khudari
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – The executive committee for the care of orphans has recommended the diversification of programs offered to orphans allowing non-Saudis to marry Saudi female orphans.
A meeting chaired by the head of the committee, Samha Al-Ghamdi, called for chalking out measures to rehabilitate orphans and prepare them for marriage.
It also recommended setting up orphan friendship committees and coordination between the ministries of social affairs, and justice to help them.
The participants also urged Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to help in opening bank accounts for orphans.
The committee recommended the need for periodic review of the strategy for the care of orphans, which was recently introduced in all orphanages across the Kingdom, benefiting 9,000 orphans of both genders.
The participants agreed on the need to monitor the conditions of orphans and encourage their marriage to others, but ensuring that the grooms are not after the SR60,000 financial support provided for the orphan’s marriage.
Specialist at Jeddah’s social supervisory office Leila Jameel said people are reluctant to marry female orphans because the majority of them have dark skin.
Samha Al-Ghamdi stressed that it is not easy to marry an orphan woman, because marriage proposals generally come from elderly and handicapped men as well as those suffering from psychiatric conditions.
The participants also stressed the need for coordination with lawyers to volunteer their services for free.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced plans to do away with orphanages and ensure every orphan is assigned a foster family. The ministry has increased its financial assistance to orphans by 100 percent, meaning elementary school orphans receive SR500 a month, intermediate orphans receive SR700, secondary orphans receive SR900 and university orphans receive SR1,200 a month.
In February, Riyadh’s Ensan Charitable Society for Orphan’s Care , which has 41,000 orphans in 13 centers, married off 100 orphans at a ceremony in the capital.
