Government | Friday 24 April, 2015 11:26 am |

The Ministry of Social Affairs has given SR30,000 to a family of 18 living in a tin shack in Baha, with plans to build them a decent house for free.
Ahmad bin Ibrahim Al-Assmi, director of the ministry’s branch in the region, said the amount would be deposited in the family’s social welfare account, according to a report in a local publication.

Al-Assmi said the ministry took action after a video was posted on social networking sites featuring the plight of the family. The head of the family said that he sold miswak, stems from the arak tree used to clean teeth, to make a living.
He said this was not enough to feed his family of two wives, mother and 14 children who all live in a shack built out of aluminum in Saqamah Valley, Gulwh, Al-Mekhwah governorate.

Khaled Matar Al-Zahrani, spokesman of the ministry’s branch in Baha, said officials had checked out the man’s story and found that he needed urgent help. The deputy minister of social affairs approved the disbursement of the funds, he said.
He said the family does receive social support of SR2,800, and SR1,176 under the government’s food program, and his wife has received SR15,000 under the ministry’s productive program.

The family would also now be included in the cash assistance program for school bags and uniforms with SR600, and get SR725 to pay part of their electricity bill.
He said the ministry has contacted a charity in Gulwh to build a house free of charge for the family. The ministry would furnish the home once it is completed. Meanwhile, the ministry has rented a furnished apartment for the family until their house is completed.