JEDDAH, 15 May 2006 -- Ehsan ibn Saleh Tayyeb, director general of social affairs in the Makkah region, said his department was working hard to find a solution to the phenomenon of people sleeping on streets and under bridges.
"There is good coordination with other departments to find a quick solution to this problem," he told Arab News. The ministries of social affairs and health have reached an agreement to establish homes for pavement dwellers, he said.
The Social Affairs Ministry would play its part in the establishment of such homes while the Health Ministry would deploy medical and paramedical cadre required by such institutions.
"We have already decided to establish two such homes in Riyadh and Jeddah in order to take care of these pavement dwellers, study their conditions and help them get out of their present predicament," Tayyeb said.
He said the homes would be named as Social Brotherhood Homes (Al-Ikha Al-Ejtimae), adding that allocations have been made to establish them. Efforts are under way to rent a building to open such a home in Jeddah shortly.
Arab News yesterday published an investigative report (The Residents of Al-Malaa Bridge) on pavement dwellers in Makkah, emphasizing the need for providing proper housing to such people.
By Zainy Abbas
© Arab News 2006
