HM the King's support to RCO highlighted

Manama, Mar. 6. (BNA) – His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Honorary President of the Royal Charity Organisation (RCO), has a comprehensive and deep reform vision with a social dimension, RCO Secretary-General Dr. Mustafa Al Sayed said. According to HM the King's far-sighted vision, Al Sayed explained that comprehensive reform included not only the political field, but also covered addressing social aspects in order to strengthen society, adding that HM King has allocated constant interest in supporting the Bahraini family, and caring for orphans and widows in order to achieve that goal. In a statement to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Al Sayed highlighted RCO's efforts to enhance its work and achieve its goals through increasing the number of beneficiaries, as well as staff. According to HM the King, the family is the cornerstone of development and progress in the kingdom, and families without breadwinners or lack basic needs cannot contribute to efforts to develop the nation, and in order to ensure the participation of all citizens in the nation-building process and consolidate the culture of solidarity and cooperation among the Bahraini society, HM decided to establish RCO. He affirmed that RCO had achieved a lot over the past thirteen years thanks to the incessant support of HM the King, the government, led by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, and the "ambitious" leadership of the Chairman of Board of Trustees, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Al Sayed extended sincere thanks and appreciation to the Ministers of Royal Court, Foreign Affairs, Health and Social Development for the great support they provide to RCO on all occasions. Over 10,000 orphans and widows are now enjoying HM the King's support and care, he said, adding that support is not only financial but includes all aspects of life. In 2014, RCO paid many field visits to the families of widows and orphans to get assured about their living conditions, studied the conditions of widows and discussed the possibility of creating new income sources for them, and followed up the academic achievements of its higher education beneficiaries who are befitting from its scholarships and grants, with the number of outstanding ones reaching 410. Other than education, RCO's humanitarian activities included health services, such as prevention from diseases campaigns and surgical operations for widows and orphans in order to achieve the aspirations of HM the King, RCO's Honorary President. He said that RCO also provided sports activities for its beneficiaries, citing the establishment of the Real Madrid Charity Football Academy in the Kingdom of Bahrain in which 150 RCO-sponsored students, along with others, are trained according to the highest world levels to be champions of the future. Al Sayed credited Shaikh Nasser for the success of RCO's activities, explaining that as leadership and creative personality, Shaikh Nasser promoted the culture of good among RCO's affiliates. On RCO's resources, he said that thanks to the directives of HM the King and the government, and the leadership of Shaikh Nasser, RCO adopted plans to invest in the donations it receives to serve its beneficiaries and ensure viable sources for them. In this regard, he cited HM the King's sound directives to allocate 46.5% of the shares of the state-owned Seef Properties to enhance support for orphans and ensure them a better future, explaining that RCO benefited from those shares to launch investment projects such as the Family Bank. He noted the charity Investment Towers projects and the Nasser Centre for Rehabilitation and Vocational Training are among the pioneering initiatives to increase permanent revenues for RCO in order to improve its services for its beneficiaries. Al Sayed pledged that RCO would, with the directives of HM the King and Shaikh Nasser, continue expanding its activities in order to consolidate its status as a charity work pioneer.