MAKKAH — The Haji and Mutamir Gift Organization (HMGO) has employed 300 Saudi women to provide various services to the guests of Allah in Makkah and Madinah. Many of them are involved in taking care of stranded children at the organization's Model Center. "This is the first time we are employing women to extend various services to pilgrims and visitors," said Mansour Al-Amir, charity's director general. "They are role models for devout Muslim women and have distributed 200,000 meals among pilgrims during the past days," he added. He said the organization has taken care of 75,000 stranded people including a large number of small children during the last six months. "This shows the enormity of work done by our female staff." Al-Amir said HMGO had made intense preparations several months before to make its Ramadan programs successful and beneficial to pilgrims and worshipers. "We have signed big contracts and set out logistical plans for the whole Ramadan," he told Makkah Arabic daily. "We intend to give 1.4 million iftar meals to the faithful during the month," he pointed out. The organization operates in 46 locations in Makkah under the supervision of three offices. It has two offices in Madinah. It employs a total of 1,725 men and women. Among them 1,025 are seasonal workers while the remaining 700 work for it throughout the year at its branches in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah. "Our services have reached the Kingdom's northern borders with Jordan and we extend various services including distribution of iftar meals," Al-Amir said. The organization distributes various gifts to pilgrims, including umbrellas, masks and food packets. "Every year, our organization extends about 15 million various services to pilgrims," Al-Amir said. "We serve pilgrims even after Haj by distributing Zamzam water, assisting the handicapped and seeing them off from Makkah and Madinah," he said. HMGO coordinates with various government and private agencies, including Tawafa organizations and security forces. Mutlaq Saad Al-Malki, a Saudi, underscored HMGO's services, saying they were instrumental in creating a good impression about Saudi Arabia and its people among the pilgrims.
