‘Jood Regions’ Provides Homes for 10,000 Saudi Families

A donors gathering in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
A donors gathering in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
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‘Jood Regions’ Provides Homes for 10,000 Saudi Families

A donors gathering in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
A donors gathering in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (SPA)

Each year during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting in Islam, Saudi Arabia's non-profit Housing Development Organization “Sakan” launches its annual Jood Regions campaign.

It aims to provide over 10,000 housing units for the neediest families across Saudi cities. The campaign launch includes events to raise awareness and encourage community participation.

These events, organized by local authorities, bring together entrepreneurs, leaders, and others to ensure citizens get suitable housing with ease and reliability, fulfilling the goals of developmental housing initiatives.

Abdulaziz Al-Kreedies, the Secretary-General Sakan, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Jood Regions campaign aims to provide housing solutions through partnerships with different sectors.

Moreover, the campaign wants to support non-profit housing efforts and local housing associations. The goal is to encourage communities to help the neediest families in their areas creatively, fostering social support and ensuring housing security for them.

The campaign organized diverse events across Saudi Arabia’s regions and provinces, involving government bodies, private sectors, universities, malls, and public spaces, totaling over 257 activities.

They used creative advertising, including local billboards, to reach communities.

The “Jood Eskan” platform is another project by Sakan. Chaired by Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Majid Al-Hogail, Sakan aims to encourage community participation through innovative initiatives.

They also lead efforts to empower the non-profit housing sector for sustainable solutions.



Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
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Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)

Melbourne prides itself on serving up the world's best coffee, but finding a hot brew at the Australian Open has proved a challenge for some of the tens of thousands of fans attending this year's Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Organizers have worked hard over the last decade to improve options for refreshment and an array of outlets at the Melbourne Park precinct.

Yet long queues face fans looking to indulge their passion for the city's favorite beverage at the 15 coffee stores Tennis Australia says dot the 40-hectare (99-acre) site.

"We need more coffee places open," said Katherine Wright, who has been coming to the tournament for the five years as she lined up for a hot drink near the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

"We are big coffee drinkers, especially Melburnians."

The Australian Open attracts more than 90,000 fans a day early on in the tournament, when ground passes are relatively cheap, offering the chance to watch main draw action on the outer courts.

Liz, another Melburnian, said she stood in line for half an hour for a cup of coffee on Sunday, when rain halted play for six hours on the outer courts.

"This is a well-established global event," she added. "You actually need to be providing better service to the consumer."

Melbourne imports about 30 tons of coffee beans a day, the Australian Science Education Research Association says, representing a surge of nearly eightfold over the past decade that is sufficient to brew 3 million cups of coffee.

For Malgorzata Halaba, a fan who came from Poland on Sunday for her second Australian Open, finding one of those 3 million cups was a must.

"It seems it took me a day and a half, and several kilometers of walking around the grounds, to find coffee," she said. "And jet-lagged as I am, coffee is a lifesaver."