Except for the subject of “Charity Work and Terrorism,” what was written about Saudi charity work in English by westerners of research and scientific reports, are hardly more than a handful. As scarce as they are, it is important to review them, because it means additional evaluation of the performance of government and society, in a field where we have a great opportunity to excel in at a global level.
In my possession are three solid sources that talk about Saudi charity work with some analysis and evaluation. The first of these sources is a report by Caroline Montagu published in the Middle East Journal in 2010 for volunteer work in Saudi Arabia. In the report she mentions that volunteering is an opportunity for the government and society to make social reform, and that the voluntary sector can play a complementary role for the government in provision of services. However, the government appears reluctant to develop voluntary work.
This is confirmed by the fact that the charity sector in Saudi Arabia is still lagging behind the rest of the Middle East in terms of the number of charitable organizations for the individual and diversity of events. But the writer exaggerates when it claims that the government is trying to impose its control on the charitable sector, because it is probably more like a parallel power to the government.
In an article analytical for relief assistance in Saudi Arabia entitled: Saudi Arabia as a Humanitarian Donor: High Potential, Little Institutionalization published by the World Institute for Public Policy in Berlin in 2011, researchers mention that Saudi Arabia is the largest donor outside of the Western countries, and the leader of relief assistance to the Arab and Muslim worlds, where Saudi aid amounted to nearly $ 90 billion between 1975 and 2005 .
According to researchers, the actual capacity of the Kingdom does not match growing commitments. The Kingdom lacks a coherent and systematic framework for charitable aid, and there is no central agency to coordinate and supervise the relief operations.
They add that there is in the Kingdom a dearth of permanent highly professional staff that are able to manage large amounts of relief provided by the Kingdom. The researchers conclude that this made much of the relevant authorities in global relief affairs, believe that the Kingdom is lagging behind in many and important investment opportunities. The article concludes researchers made several recommendations to decision makers in the Kingdom.
In a report on the legal status of charitable work in Saudi Arabia, prepared by the International Center for Not for Profit Law, based in America, it describes the charitable sector in Saudi Arabia seems under developed despite the religious, cultural and social heritage in Saudi society when it comes to charitable work.
It mentions several reasons for this, including the fact that the legal framework for philanthropy is traditional and restrictive, and that the work of charitable organizations is not transparent, and lacks specialists in the establishment of effective and sustainable charities. The report also raises the subject of the independence of charitable organizations, where according to the report, in comparison to others Saudi Arabia has only a few charitable organizations independent of the government apparatus.
So the question is: should we accept this dismal picture that emerges from these reports about us? Certainly some of what has been said is not accurate, but most of it needs devoted, responsible people to reflect on this and work to improve the situation.
— Courtesy of Iqtisadia newspaper