Crown Prince Abdullah’s recent well-publicized visit to a slum in Riyadh has brought home the fact that poverty has become a reality in Saudi Arabia. Previously one could deny, ignore or play down its presence. Now the signs are undeniable. It has not reached dangerous levels, but that could quickly change.

The State of World Population 2002 report from the United Nations Population Fund paints a gloomy picture of global poverty, but it also makes recommendations for immediate and long -term measures to reduce it.

According to the report, income is not the only measurement of poverty because the gap between the rich and the poor globally and within countries is growing; this is something we see in our society. It also states that economic growth alone will not end poverty because other measures that can improve personal capacity and increase access to resources, institutions and support are also needed.

The report indicates that countries that have provided reproductive health services including family planning, increased the coverage and quality of education, advanced gender equality, and developed responsible and accountable systems of governance and social participation have achieved easier and faster progress than those countries that have not implemented these measures.

In Saudi Arabia, there is not enough public awareness about the importance of education and family planning, particularly for the health and welfare of women, and how that is affecting our social and economic development. According to the report, long —term demographic and economic data from 45 developing countries show that high fertility increases poverty by slowing economic growth and by skewing the distribution of consumption against the poor.

On the other hand, enabling women to have smaller families counters both of these effects. Although we have reduced mortality rate considerably, we still have a relatively high average of population growth rate (3.1 percent). As for illiteracy, it is twice as high among women than men (31 percent women, 16 percent men).

For those who argue against the employment of women, the facts discrediting them speak louder. The report clearly shows that higher income, which sometimes can be achieved only by including women in the workforce, improves living environments, reduces malnutrition and provides a buffer against the costs of poor health. In any country, it’s the women and children who suffer the most from poverty, and Saudi Arabia is no different. Any program for reducing the rate of poverty in our country must include promoting health awareness among women, particularly reproductive health, and providing them with opportunities and better circumstances for employment.

Charity organizations are usually at the forefront in the fight against poverty, and in Saudi Arabia they provide valuable assistance to the poor through donations and free facilities such as health clinics, orphanages and homes for the elderly. Like government social welfare, such charity organizations help in lifting the burden of poverty on individuals but they do not provide long-term solutions.

The Women’s Welfare Organization in Jeddah was the first to be registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs 40 years ago, which speaks of the active role women have been playing in social work. “When we started 40 years ago we supported 300 families, 10 percent of them were Saudis, now we are supporting more than 7,000 families, 80 percent of them are Saudis,” said Mona Alfadly, director of the organization. “Our goal is to help women from limited income families become financially independent,” she said.

It provides them with education and training centers in different fields. “We have several training programs such as tailoring, needle-work, beautician, and nursing as well as free classes in computer skills and English language,” said Huda Al-Khudari, director of public relations. After completing their training, the organization helps these women find jobs either at the organization’s own facilities (tailoring shop, orphanage and childcare center, a home for the elderly) or elsewhere.

“We also assist families who produce handcrafted items at home in marketing their products through exhibitions and events,” said Al-Khudari. The women benefiting from these programs include widows, divorcees, those abandoned or whose husbands are unemployed or in jail, and many others who are taking care of their elderly parents.

Fatima Ahmed is a 20-year -old trainee in tailoring with a high school degree, “I have 12 siblings and my father’s retirement pension as a soldier is our only source of income,” she said.

Sawsan Nasruldin, whose father is dead, became a graduate of the tailoring program 13 years ago, and has been working there since then supporting her family of seven siblings.

Not surprisingly, the UN agency’s report pointed to the fact that it’s the communities in remote areas that suffer the most from poverty in any country. “There is little attention given to these villages even by charity organizations,” said Rahmah Aqil who opened a girls’ school for teaching Qur’an 13 years ago in Wadi Fatima, a district 65 kilometers outside Makkah. Now there are 45 schools in the 40 small villages in the district.

Living conditions are very hard for the families, most of them are large and their only source of income are the fathers who are usually employed as hand laborers or soldiers for around SR2000 salary.

“We used to hire teachers from Makkah but since we opened a teacher’s training program five years ago, most of our teachers now are the village girls who graduated from our schools,” said Alya Altamimi, director of the teacher’s training program. Because all the schools rely on donations by some of the better-off individuals in the villages, some of them don’t even have chairs for the students. Although most of the girls are high school or college graduates, they cannot find work in their villages and they cannot or are not allowed to work in distant locations.

“Their biggest problem is transportation,” said Altamimi. Arranging for regular and reliable transportation costs the girls SR150 —300 a month, out of a SR500 -800 salary. That is a very large expense. “Most of these girls are supporting their families with this salary,” she said.

Another problem is health care. “The population in the villages has increased a lot and there aren’t enough health care centers,” said Aqil.

Arab News Features 28 February 2003