A circular has been sent to all car rental offices in Jeddah Governorate asking them to provide customized cars for physically challenged people, Sa'eed Al-Bassami, Chairman of the Car Rental Committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), was quoted as saying Thursday. The action was taken following the receipt of a directive from the Ministry of Social Affairs to JCCI's Car Rental Committee. The Ministry of Social Affairs tried to provide 1,000 cars for the physically challenged through an agreement with a local auto dealer, but the project did not materialize for a number of reasons. The lack of customized cars is viewed with dismay by the disabled. Sami Al-Ghamdi said he went with his disabled son, who is suffering from paralysis, to submit an application at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in Jeddah, but they have not yet responded. Abdullah Al-Sumairi, who has several disabled brothers, said that disabled people face great hardships in moving from one place to another and they really need customized vehicles. The Director of the Rehabilitation Administration in Makkah region has admitted that the disabled in Jeddah governorate form a sizable percentage of the population and agreed that they ought to be provided with services. He said that so far 200 disabled people have submitted applications at the Ministry of Social Affairs to be provided with customized carss. In another move to help physically challenged citizens, the Individuals' Recruitment Administrations of the Ministry of Labor across the Kingdom have stopped requiring them to pay a SR2,000 recruitment fee to hire a driver or domestic helper or nurse. A statement issued by the Ministry of Labor Thursday said these work visas will be issued according to rules finalized by a committee of representatives from the ministries of Social Affairs, Health, Education, Interior, Finance and Labor. Every physically challenged citizen is allowed to recruit one private driver, servant and nurse under the condition that their services will not be transferred to any other group. In the case of minors, guardians should sign undertakings that they will be responsible for all of the expenses and dues of workers recruited in the name of the physically challenged individual and that they will fulfill all the financial obligations of the workers.
