Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Women Appreciation Month is a campaign that was launched for the third consecutive year on March 1 by Femi9 stores, a Saudi brand for women's apparel. Each year, the goal of the campaign is to recognize and celebrate the great achievements and widespread influence of prominent women in Saudi society, whether she is a doctor, journalist, businesswoman, computer programmer, mother, or university student. This year, WAM took one step further in its support of women as it announced the Growing Initiatives Award, an initiative which entails sponsorship of developing projects and start-up businesses owned by ambitious women who are seeking personal growth, community involvement, and expansion of their projects. Over 50 applications were received for the Growing Initiatives Award by women from all over the Kingdom. The panel of judges shortlisted the top 10 projects and the names of the ten finalists were announced at a ceremony that took place in Jeddah on April 1. Each of these ten women will receive a certificate of appreciation, media exposure, the opportunity to brainstorm their ideas with others, and will be invited to attend training workshops to help them develop their business or project. The names of the three winners will finally be released on April 9, and the winners will be eligible for funding, business and legal consultation, marketing training, and media exposure, to help these women attain their goals. The judges included Dr. Arwa Yousuf Al-Aama, who is a prime example of an educated Saudi woman in a leading position as Vice Mayor, IT Affairs of Jeddah Municipality. Another judge, Khalid Al-Khudair, is the founder and board member of Glowork, a company formed by young Saudi entrepreneurs that aims to bring empowerment to women and increase diversity in the Saudi workforce. The company is working hard to change the current statistics, such as that 60 percent of Saudi female PhD holders are unemployed. The third and final judge is Eyad Al-Mashat, founder and CEO of Fad International Ltd. Co. and founder of Femi9. “We are all proud of the continuous achievements and progress made by women throughout the past years. The objective of WAM this year through this initiative is to shed light on women's important role in society and to provide tangible support for women who are trying to make a difference through original and constructive projects. “Our goal is to encourage women to elevate their entrepreneurial projects to a higher level and to help them contribute to female employment. We want to promote those projects that have the prospect to expand in the near future, which in turn will open up job opportunities for more women,” said Eyad Al-Mashat. Saudi Gazette met an interesting mix of ten inspirational women at the ceremony, each with her own unique idea, hoping that this initiative will be her ticket to success. Nahed Al-Hubair has started a small business which entails gift wrapping for her clients in a creative, innovative, and unique way. “We offer something new and unprecedented to make your gift far more special. We do not use the regular gift wrapping paper or even a decorative gift box. Instead, we put the gift along with colorful flowers inside a balloon. Anything can go in the balloon; clothes, perfumes, jewelry. And we replaced the traditional card that accompanies the usual gift with ribbons that we tie to the balloon and you write your message on the ribbons,” said Al-Hubair. Other projects included a business based on handmade crochet by Bayan Bugis for newborns with so much work, dedication, beauty, and love woven into them. Young entrepreneurs also started businesses on designing jewelry, making home décor items, and there was a young Saudi florist as well. Some women had entered the contest for social purposes intended to serve the community. Fatima Abu-Srair from Qateef, an English literature major university student has started a book club “Let's Read Club” for children and teens. “I started this project with my friends for the sole purpose of encouraging reading in the youth, and it is a non-profit endeavor. The older girls vote for a book to read and they meet once a month to discuss and analyze the book. “The younger girls read shorter stories and they meet once a week. We sometimes invite the author of the book to discuss her writing with the children. I really want to win this competition because I need the support and the funding,” said Al-Srair. Two active women, Omama Sairawan and Reema Engawi, also took on a challenging community service initiative and they wish to become more professional and to gain more continuity and stability if they win the award. These best friends established a non-profit youth club for boys called “Athar Alshabab.” “Our goal was to invest in the youth and to channel their energies to help others and to encourage them to do volunteer work. Our program combines education, work, and worship. “We wanted the boys to actually apply their knowledge of the religion into their daily lives and their interaction with other people and their environment. We routinely offer courses in self-development, education, and health by popular and well-informed lecturers and counselors. “Among the volunteer work that our members have done are cleaning up local parks, cleaning and tidying up neighborhood mosques, helping to prepare food baskets for families in need, and also visiting sick children in the hospital to cheer them up,”said Engawi. Whether the projects of these inventive women are business or social in nature, all the young ladies deserve recognition for their efforts and productivity. Additional sponsors of the event and the initiative include: Jeddah Municipality, Glowork, Jeddah Beauty Blog, Destination Jeddah and Destination Riyadh, Al-Madinah newspaper, Layalina magazine, and Mix FM.
