Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs, on Sunday announced a project to establish a girls social protection house in the region. The house, under the umbrella of the King Fahd Women's Society, will provide services of care and shelter for the needy. The minister's announcement came during his visit to the Social Service Center in Jizan. He said that the conference of social responsibility to be held under the patronage of King Abdullah in Riyadh next month will review successful experiences in this regard. The minister denied any failure of the private sector in supporting charitable societies. In response to a question on the ministry's mechanisms to eliminate poverty, Al-Othaimeen said the poor who are unable to work are the ministry's responsibility and it has established for them several programs of social security and aid which has been increased by 100 percent. He added that the National Charitable Fund was also supported by a large budget of SR300 million and SR10 billion was allocated for public housing that is now under the General Commission for Housing. The poor who are able to work, he said, are the responsibility of government departments of education, training and those that grants loans. These organizations are exerting efforts to train and qualify Saudis to be competitors in the labor market, he added. Commenting on the two sisters recently rescued from their home after ten-year imprisonment, Salim Basihi, the region's Social Affairs director, said the brother should have sought the assistance of the Social Affairs department. He said the ministry spends SR120 million on taking care of more than 16,700 cases. The financial allocations for these cases will be doubled to reach SR240 million, he added.
