Establishing a Family Association Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Family Association Center (FAC)

The success of YMCA in the United States has inspired a drive to establish similar associations in other countries. More daring than the drive to expand the basically Christian premise of YMCA, is the idea of applying the central ideal of the organization to alternative cultures and religions, such as Islam in Saudi Arabia.

It is proposed that a "Family Association Center" (FAC) be established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the purpose of serving families collectively, as well as individuals who wish to improve their character and concomitantly improve their relationships with those who share their lives. This will be done within the cultural and religious setup in the country, using the social and belief systems existing in the country to further education, literacy, and the general well-being of society as a whole as well as the individuals who make up this society.

It is important to recognize that FAC will not attempt to change the basic values within the country, which are strongly connected with their Islam faith and family structure. Instead, the purpose of the Center will be to help individuals function optimally within the values they share with others in the country. In general, it is envisioned that the focus on building a healthy and good character for the individual will result in increased and sustainable stability within a society that has been torn by political difficulty and war.

The work of the FAC will therefore be important in terms of building individuals who can function within society and its rules to create families who are stable and happy. This will be accomplished by a variety of means, including certain strategies to establish and maintain the center within the country, with a view to possible expansion in the future. Furthermore, educational and government institutions, as well as businesses and individuals will be approached for funding. It is believed that the Center is an important venture that will offer individuals and families a refuge from the often conflicting and difficult circumstances of their lives. Instead of being drawn to violence as an alternative, the center will encourage individuals to build a wholesome character within themselves, and use this as a basis to respond more effectively to what they perceive as the challenges and difficulties of life.

1. Mission and Vision

The mission of FAC is to provide a platform for the effective communication among family members in Saudi Arabia, through which persons can build both their individual and collective character as a family. The aim of the Center is to provide a refuge in which such communication can take place in an effective manner, that promotes the value and quality of life for families and individuals. Finally, this should take place within the personal value set of the families and individuals in question, and also as far as applicable within the relevant laws and cultural values promoted by the country.

As such, the vision of the FAC is to provide clients with increasingly excellent service. The Center is envisioned to grow in size and success, while providing the country's citizens with the best in consulting and other family services. In this vision, the services offered will allow individuals and families to live happier and more fulfilled lives, by learning to effectively apply their own desires and needs to the requirements of their family and social lives.

The main premise on which this vision is based is the mission of building character. By using religion and education, as practiced by the country's citizens, character will be developed in such a way to ensure the ultimate fulfillment of the individual, and his or her effective functioning within the family unit, as well is in society as a whole.

Ultimately, FAC aims to serve the country and its citizens by promoting happy and united family lives.

The specific services offered to promote character development will include education, consultation, and religious services. Individuals may for example struggle with his or her school studies. The educational services offered at the Center will then focus to help this individual with the specific area of study that presents a challenge. If an individual is unhappy in her family life, she will receive consultation and practical advice to improve her situation. If it is estimated that an individual is in any danger from the family situation, officials within the center will work with the police to resolve the issue.

Each person entering the Center, with or without the family, will receive an initial individual consultation. This consultation will determine the needs of the client. In this way, the client is allowed to dictate his or her association with and use of the Center's services. For families, individual consultations will be followed with consultations for the family as a whole. It may be found at times that individuals are not positive about their family and the purpose of visiting the Center. Specific consultations will then be held with such individuals to determine the basis of his or her feelings, and to determine if something can be done to alleviate and/or remedy the situation.

In short, client service will be sculpted according to individual and family needs, as dictated by clients. It is envisioned that FAC will grow as a result and ultimately be considered an asset to the society and the country it serves.

3. FAC and the Local Culture

It is vitally important that the Saudi Arabian culture be taken into account in FAC's service to its clients. When establishing the Center in the country, it should be recognized that its success or failure will depend upon its image in the eyes of citizens, and hence potential clients. The viability of FAC will also depend upon how willing citizens are to make use of the service. There are two basic strategies that FAC can use to relate to the local culture of the country.

First, it can use volunteers from the local community during the setup stage of the Center, as well as to help with the services the Center aims to provide. Being a very traditional and close-knit community, it is more likely that citizens will respond well to respected persons from their own community rather than to persons from other cultures or countries, for example.

In addition, all the personnel at the Center should make their best effort to understand and immerse themselves in the basic cultural values of the community. This could also include learning the language, religion, and social structure within the community. Saudi Arabia is for example characterized by a common Arabian language and a common religion, namely Sunni Wahhabi Islam. The social structure is based upon the family, which is mainly patriarchal in nature.

In order to serve such a community effectively, it cannot be emphasized enough that all social and religious tenets should be respected as they are, without changing them. As noted above, the mission of FAC is not religious in nature. Rather, it is a practical attempt to help those within the culture, religion, and family structure of the country to function effectively and joyously within these structures. Personnel at the Center should therefore strive to be understanding of these premises and help to promote them in association with character development, rather than attempting to change centuries-old traditions in favor of Western or any other alternative ideology.

4. Strategy and Funding Requirements

It is important to demonstrate respect for the local culture in order to effectively serve the community within the culture. When first establishing FAC, the strategy will then be to approach political and religious authorities within the town. The premise and necessity of the Center will be explained in terms of furthering character development for the collective good of the country. Approval by these authorities will be used to promote the service to citizens.

In addition, the Center will be promoted by means of the local media, as well as by means of pamphlets at schools, religious establishments, and other educational facilities. FAC will be sketched as an establishment to promote the joy of living while adhering to cultural and religious values. The various services will be summarized in categories, such as building character and assisting with particular problems such as family conflict or educational problems.

Within the first year, it is envisioned that the services of the Center will be well established, and that the community will be richer for it. It is expected that families will be happier in general, individuals will live more fulfilled lives, and children will perform better academically. It is also expected that what illiteracy remains will be substantially diminished.

In order to measure these outcomes, questionnaires will be used to establish the initial situation among volunteers. After a year of making use of the Center, these same individuals will be questioned again regarding their respective situations. A comparison of the two answer sets will then allow the Center's officials to establish and quantify the growth of its success.

Initial costs will be higher than maintenance costs. It is expected that an initial

investment of $400,000 will be needed in order to effectively establish the Center. In addition, the Center will require a maintenance cost of $50,000 per month.

5. Budget and Strategy

Strategy 1: Arranging meetings with community leaders

This strategy ensures that the community at large will accept FAC in its capacity as an establishment to provide help and counseling within the existing cultural, religious, and educational paradigms. Public trust is important for the success of the Center. Specifically, this strategy includes arranging meetings times, venues and refreshments. This is estimated at a budget for about $5,000 per meeting. This strategy will also include the possibility of securing the services of a cultural consultant; preferably also a person with some standing in the community. The budget for this is estimated at an initial fee of about $3,000, which will repeat monthly for as long as the consultant's services are required.

Strategy 2: Promotion at schools and educational facilities

In order to promote the service, young people at educational facilities will initially be targeted. It is possible that the strict religious and cultural requirements of the country could impact upon the experience of young people; resulting in feelings of rebellion or at least unhappiness. Schools will be approached to help solve this problem. For this, visual aids such as television and video media will be used, depending upon the technology and venues available at each respective facility. It is also expected that a fee will be payable for the time and venues used. The budget for these sessions is estimated at about $8,000 per session.

Strategy 3: Establishment of suitable premises for FAC.

Initially, the building will be a rented establishment, possibly with the option to buy later. It is expected that some renovation will be required in order to ensure that the building projects a sense of safety and joy to clients who need the Center's services. Together with the deposit, first moth's rent, renovations, and other requirements, it is estimated that an initial investment of $50,000 will need to be made.

7. Staffing Structure

Initially, FAC will consist of three levels of staff, namely management, consultants, and administrative staff. Management will consist of three or four persons. Each will head a division of staff in order to ensure that quality of service is maintained. An open communication paradigm will be maintained, with staff being welcome to discuss any problems they have with their work or clients. At least one member of Management will be recruited from the local community.

Initially, there will be five consultants, in addition to the cultural consultant to be recruited from the local community. The consultants work directly with the clients in order to help them develop character and solve problems. Consultants are expected to work well with people and enjoy helping them solve problems. Each consultant, if not from the local community, will be required to attend at least two sessions per week with the cultural consultant. All problems that consultants experience with the local culture should be referred to the cultural consultant. If FAC experiences significant growth and an increase in workload, additional consultants will be recruited from the local community.

Administrative staff will consist of two accountants and two general administrative staff members. The accountants will be in charge of all funding and payment issues. Problems with this should be communicated to the Management staff member in charge of the accounting department. The general administrative staff members are to assign clients to consultants, make appointments, arrange meetings, and other general administrative functions.

The corporate culture and image of FAC is very important, especially as the Center functions within Saudi Arabia. Staff and management are to imitate the ideal family structure, where each has a specific function to fulfill, and where the collective functions adequately only when each individual works effectively. Furthermore, the culture is to be one of friendliness and understanding, to provide clients both with a sense of trust and comfort when they arrive for the first time, and to show them practically what it can mean to be a fully functioning and effective family.

Conclusion

It is the opinion of the founders that FAC will fill a great need in Saudi Arabia: the need for a central meeting place, where families and individuals can come to find meaning in life and in family. This meaning goes far beyond the violence and war that has been so much a part of the country and its environment. All too often young adults and even children are drawn into the concept of Jihad and religious suicide as a result of losing a sense of purpose in life and family. FAC will work to restore this sense of purpose.

The Center will show its clients that there is greater meaning in living life fully than there is in dying for a potentially unworthy cause. As such, FAC will promote not only life, but also an adherence to the values and culture of the country; the very values and culture that are often used as an excuse for violence. FAC will promote peace without requiring clients to transform either their way of living or their belief systems. Indeed, by promoting these, families and individuals will be taught the value of character development.