A total of 728 grooms and brides were married in a mass wedding ceremony here Sunday organized by the region's Charitable Organization for Marriage Facilitation. The ceremony was attended by Prince Mishari Bin Saud Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Al-Baha. At a press conference after the event, Prince Mishari said he supported mass weddings in all the regions. Financial assistance to couples amounted to a total of SR1.8 million, with each groom receiving SR5,000. The Emir said that he spoke about it to Abdullah Al-Qarni, the head of the region's Chairman of Courts, and called on tribal sheikhs (chiefs) and village chiefs to support mass weddings because they lighten the financial load on young men. Prince Mishari said he will convene a meeting after Ramadan with the region's charitable organizations to discuss ways to support them and to divide donations they receive equally. The aim is to help these organizations serve society no matter what the activity. Ibrahim Hamdan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the marriage facilitation organization in Al-Baha, said the organization has helped 3,650 men and women since its inception in 2007. It has also carried out other programs that benefit thousands of people, he said. __
