Jeddah imam uses SMS to help residents

An imam at a local mosque in Jeddah has designed a program entitled “Tawasul” in association with telecom company Mobily to disseminate information about social advocacy lectures held at the mosque through SMS, Whatsapp and YouTube.
Since drawing up the agreement, Sheikh Jamal Al-Bashery, who pays a monthly fee of SR180 for the service, has sent out more than 3,000 messages to residents in adjacent neighborhoods.
This is an optional service, he says, which is free of cost to subscribers. Sheikh Al-Bashery said he was surprised by the favorable responses he has received so far and that more than 500 people have included their names in the list.
He said that there is usually a daily meeting with neighborhood residents to discuss problems within the district. The meetings work on finding ways to support residents facing financial difficulty.
He says that through the program, for instance, he was able to collect more than SR15,000 for someone in need in a single week.
The mosque is the first in Jeddah to adopt this program.