It takes a village to raise a child.

By Jou Pabalate

For its latest endeavor, Mawaddah Women Charity has partnered up with the social enterprise, the Empowerment Hub, to build a center for children of divorcees in KSA.

Since its inception, Mawaddah Women Charity for the reduction of divorce has worked to keep the Saudi family in tact. From providing counselling, discussions on public policy to creating programs to assist divorcees and their children; the organization is known for getting into the heart of the issues and creating viable solutions.

In its commitment to create a safe environment for children of divorcees, Mawaddah has taken upon itself the task of creating Beit Mawaddah, a safe haven for divorcees to drop off, pick up and conduct visitations for their children. Currently, these arrangements were being done in police precincts. As one can imagine, such setup is not ideal and can even be traumatizing to an extent.

In order to make this project a reality, Mawaddah teamed up with the Empowerment Hub. The latter is a social change movement on its own. Its mission is to revolutionize what women and youth feed their minds and bodies. They aim to strengthen the awareness of fitness and health in the Kingdom using different channels, creating active social and educational events and working hand in hand with the government and private sector for a fitter KSA.

For Mawaddah, the Empowerment Hub created the Nabni Lahom campaign to raise funds and generate awareness regarding the cause. The campaign, which commenced last fall, consists of various fitness events that not only ignited the charitable spirit of participants but also engage their wellness as individuals. Nabni Lahom also created sponsorship packages for enterprises wanting to support this worthwhile initiative.

One of the favorite events we’ve attended thus far is Rawigi, a yoga retreat at the heart of Bujairy – a feat on its own. The Empowerment Hub managed to bring together the best yogis and fitness centers in the city to create a first of its kind activity.

The event was followed up with a Spinathon at Dirab Motor Sports. In the middle of the desert with a marvelous view of cliffs on the horizon and as the breathtaking sun sets, women from all over Riyadh rode in support of the cause.

As part of the Nabni Lahom campaign, the Empowerment Hub in partnership with Wild Guanabana has organized the Kili4Mawaddah, a journey to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The climb will be done by inspiring individuals from all over Saudi Arabia and the region. The climbers are all self-funded and any donations and proceeds the climb will generate would all be going to Beit Mawaddah.

From the dedication and passion of the women behind Mawaddah, the Empowerment Hub, volunteers and every person in the community will rise a safe sanctuary for children. This only goes to show that if we took the time to support what’s good in the city, then in one way or another, we can indeed be part of the difference.