Almaarefa University
SDG 1: NO POVERTY
Saudi Arabia has the lowest reported poverty rate in the Middle East and the 10th lowest poverty rate in the world at 12.7 percent, as of 2017.Throughout Saudi history, charity has been the central approach to addressing the issue of poverty. In 2002, after Abdullah Bin Abdullaziz became the king of KSA, he created the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Supplementary Support Programs which started to distribute monthly and one-time payments to poor families through the labor ministry. Furthermore, in 2016, king Mohammad Bin Salman announced Vision 2030 as a reform project. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
Outstanding student support
Al Maarefa University (UM) has worked hard with the communities to establish a partnership with different bodies in order to help low-income student pursue their dreams by continuing their higher education in higher academic institutions. The UM helps turn student’s dreams into an opportunity by providing them with the jobs and in cooperate them into various scholarship programs. For example; UM has assisted students via Social Charity Funds (SCF), Orphanage Care Society, and agencies that offered discount without conditions to lower income students. The UM extends its partnership to different organizations that help low-income students to pursue their degrees in higher academic institutions education which is the ultimate goal of the UM. In addition, UM set a side and gives students money in the form of grants to help them continue with their studies after King Abdullah Scholarship Program ceased indefinitely. This grant is offered to students on a discount basis, and costs the UM around five million Saudi Riyals (SR.5, 000,000) per year.
Maslk Funds
Maslk Funds: is Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Foundation for Development Finance, it is one of the entities affiliated with the endowments of Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi. The foundation is registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and works in the field of sustainable development finance, and contributes through its funds and programs to achieve financial inclusion, raise employment rates, and increase the contribution of the non-profit sector in The GDP.
Low Income student support
UM supports the students from low income families to complete their studies, through different subsidize schemes. For example, UM has contract with a third party to provide low price menu food for student. UM have a contract with "qawafal alrushd" company to provide student with special discount for transportation, for the same purpose UM also has an agreement with Uber and Kareem companies. Al Maarefa University appointed "Alnadhir" law firm to assist the university staff and student including the low income.
Here is a brief list of events and actions that are related to SDG1 and which are detailed in SDG1 page:
UM created Local, National and Global collaborations and Agreements
with Local, national and Global centers, universities and charitable
foundations for the sake of providing, exchanging and enhancing expertise
that are related to no poverty and its different aspects.
UM provides financial aid to local and international students to facilitate
their study as well as other compensations related to food, transformation,
accommodation, health and others.- UM provides the students with financial support to help them start their businesses, through baying survives from them as a start-up financial assistance.
- UM organizes awareness lectures and training for both university faculty and students and for outside university community in regional and national level directly and indirectly that are related to SDG1.