Interview: Editor-in-Chief

Since the establishment of the Bonyan Women’s Charitable Society for Family Development in 1432, it has worked to achieve humanitarian goals by serving the women’s community in general, and has specialized in working within the Riyadh region pursuant to Ministerial Decision No. 602, to assist many families and individuals in various areas, ranging from providing daily household necessities to securing a bright future through several programs, including vocational training, education, employment, awareness campaigns, counseling, assistance, and the provision of suitable housing.

The newspaper «Amlak» sat down with the association’s president, Ms. Nada Abdullah Al-Bawardi, to learn more about the association’s activities through the following interview:

To begin with, how was the «Bonyan Charitable Association» founded?

I began my charitable work with businesswomen 20 years ago, following the passing of my father, may – may God have mercy on him – when we noticed there were some poor people in need of support and assistance, especially in managing their living conditions. We divided the tasks among ourselves amicably, without formalities or titles, to help this group, and we would meet each time at a home in the Al-Salhiyah neighborhood of Riyadh, where it all began, and what drew our attention to this work was these groups" need for food, clothing, and other necessities.

What was the first concrete action taken by the association?

In the early days of our charitable work, and after eight months of developing the idea, we purchased a home for a family and enrolled their children in school to provide them with an academic and educational foundation. Such initiatives earned us trust and experience and spurred us to aspire to even greater things. We engaged a consultant to develop plans and projects that would elevate the association’s work, and subsequently expanded our activities throughout Riyadh.

How many members does the association have?

We began our meetings with about 63 women from all walks of life, and now the number has reached 700 women who support the association as if they were volunteer staff working to achieve its goals. and, praise be to God, we have two centers in the Al-Suwaidi neighborhood in southern Riyadh and in Al-Malaz in the east.

How does the association cover its expenses?

We rely on resources provided by the community and generous businesspeople, banks, and companies to fund our projects, and I am dedicated full-time to the association’s work, overseeing projects and identifying sufficient training opportunities for our female beneficiaries in fields such as sewing, cooking, crochet, and other types of training that refine women’s skills and enable them to work and be productive.

Do you intend to expand your projects?

Yes... We have decided to open a branch in Makkah due to the need in the Western Region for the association’s activities and to attract support for it, but we face some obstacles, such as securing suitable premises for the association’s operations in Jeddah and Taif, and here we appeal to businesspeople and philanthropists in the Western Region to provide for the association’s needs and secure a headquarters so that we can serve as many women as possible who need a helping hand through training and rehabilitation.

What are the association’s primary objectives?

The association has many humanitarian goals, but among the most prominent of these are:

Providing adequate housing for eligible families.

Adopting a concept of family development with a sustainable impact on eligible family members.

Increasing and diversifying the association’s financial resources.

Adopting the concept of institutional work in the process of establishing and building the association.

Build and develop the skills of the association’s staff.

You play a role in providing housing for a large number of beneficiaries and low-income individuals. How is this done?

We have several approaches to providing housing, including:

Direct housing provision, where By the grace of God, we have doubled our housing provision plan from 40 homes annually to 80 homes today, and we are working to secure endowments for the association.

Transferring home ownership to needy families, monitoring them, ensuring their development in all aspects, and transforming them from needy to productive families. We support this initiative in several ways, including sharing costs and furnishing the homes.

The "Good Loan" program involves the association lending to families with a monthly income of between 5,000 and 10,000 riyals so they can purchase a suitable home and repay the loan in installments. To date, 230 families have received loans, and the repayment compliance rate is approximately 90%.

Paying rent for some families in financial distress.

Renovation and construction: Through this initiative, we assist those who own land with construction, and we also renovate and furnish homes.

And, praise be to God, we have succeeded in providing 300 families with homes; we have 11 endowment buildings.

What about the employment and training program?

We have an ambitious program to support, qualify, and train young people to facilitate their employment. We are collaborating with the King Khalid Charitable Society to train the Society’s beneficiaries in specialized courses. From this perspective, we call on business leaders and philanthropists who own companies to align with the association’s goals and objectives, particularly those related to youth employment. We have a list of job applications, and we hope that those who have applied will find their way into the workforce.

Are there any organizations supporting these projects?

We have obtained a 4 million riyal interest-free loan from the Credit Bank to be used for microloans and establishing productive projects for the targeted families, subject to specific conditions.

What message would you like to convey to businesspeople and companies to support the association’s work and programs?

My message to philanthropic businesspeople is to rally around charitable organizations and channel their donations through them, because charitable work is more effective and beneficial when done collectively rather than individually. We also call on them to provide their services directly, without intermediaries, to charities and those in need.