Not your average thrift shop

JEDDAH: Rummaging around in charity and thrift shops looking for secondhand clothes or a bargain on furniture is usually because of limited funds.

But at a villa in Jeddah’s Khalidiya district, the customers looking at the discarded, donated goods arrive often in expensive cars, are well-dressed and presumably well-heeled. Many hail from the smart and fashionable areas of the city, and the items for sale are smart too. You want a chic little Kenzo dress or a Dior blouse? Or perhaps some Bedouin cushions or a dining table — or maybe an entire dinner service? The place to go is a charity shop just off Rawdah Street, where some of the city’s more fashionable restaurants and shops are to be found.

But what a charity shop. Outside it could be just another villa surrounded by high walls. The only difference is the Arabic sign outside saying “Taif Orphan Welfare Charity”.

Inside, it is more like an exclusive department store. The various rooms on the two floors of the expansive house are filled with everything one would expect in a store — one room for furniture, another for toys, yet another for traditional Arab handicrafts or for paintings and artwork. There is a room with men's clothes, another for electronic goods and a whole library of books that can be either borrowed or bought.

Women’s clothes and accessories are spread over a number of areas upstairs. There is one room where items start at SR100; that is where the Dior, Gucci, Christian Lacroix and all other top names are to be found. Next to it, prices range from SR35 to SR100, and then there is the “bargain basement” department (except it is still on the second floor) displaying women's clothes and accessories on sale for as low as SR2. There is also a whole bridal department, with scores of gowns, and another for abayas — in their hundreds and to suit every pocket.

Everything is beautifully presented. This may be recycling but it is at the glamorous end of the business. It is not any old rubbish that is on sale. It is all quality merchandise. Items are rigorously sorted, cleaned if necessary and re-packaged. In many cases, goods are brand new, donated by shops that have brought in new stock. Not everything that is donated is presented for sale. Anything soiled or damaged is dumped.

The day Arab News went along, there was a load of beautiful Persian carpets, just arrived, given by someone who was redecorating his home. They disappeared quickly. You have to be there early to grab a special bargain — which is why some customers pop in almost every day to see if something interesting has arrived overnight.

Almost all the customers are women — which explains the extensive area given to women’s fashion. Apart from those who come on a daily basis, many others come at least once every week. On average there are 50 people a day in the shop, although staff say there is a distinct rise in numbers at the beginning of the school year and before the summer vacation.

The brains behind the operation is Abeer Abdulaziz Alnowaisir. Nine years ago, struck by the needs of poor people in Jeddah, she felt compelled to try and help.

“They had real needs — medications, household items, books for school,” she says. The aim was never to give money, she says. It was to provide goods and services.

With the help of a couple of friends, she managed to obtain goods. “People were very generous,” she said.

Initially, there was a garage sale and the proceeds were used to buy the goods that were needed to give to the poor. The work operated out of a room in an apartment in Khalidiya district. As it started to grow, she took a whole apartment. Five years ago,the operation moved to Madinah Road; then, last year, it went back to Khalidiya, to the present location.

Over that period, the work has shifted from amateur to professional. Initially, the objective was general: to help the poor. But then it was decided to work specifically for an existing registered charity. Following suggestions from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a link was made with Makkah Society for Orphans’ Welfare (Taif Branch). It now has its regional office in the charity shop complex with full time staff as well as a number of volunteers.

Started in 2000, the society provides help to foster families and others bringing up orphans as well as help with the children’s education and training. Since its inception, the organization has helped over 4,000 orphans. Boys are supported up to the age of 21; girls to the same age unless they marry first. It also helps orphans' families, for example, helping train widowed mothers so that they can earn an income.

Every year, for the past eight years, the charity holds a three-day festival in Jeddah, which also doubles up as a fund-raising event. By last year, it had become so popular that a football pitch had to be hired. Thirteen thousand people turned up. Occasionally too, there are other major fund-raising efforts. Six years ago there was a charity auction by Christie's of London together with an exhibition of work by some of the Kingdom’s top photographers. This week there is another auction (see box).

Abeer has seen her dream grow from a garage sale to a department store for charity, but her ambition is boundless. She would like to take over a whole shopping mall for charity. There would be shops selling all kinds of goods to raise money for charity. There would be coffee shops and restaurants too, with the profits going to the orphans.

It is a major objective. But given what has been achieved so far — and the excess of shopping malls in Jeddah — no one should bet that it will not happen.



HOW TO GET THERE: The shop is at the end of Al-Hashem Street in Khalidiya district. Head west along Rawdah St., between Prince Sultan Road and King’s Road. Take the second turn after Danube supermarket, and just in front of Al-Badriya Towers. That is Al-Hashem Street. Go to the end of the road and the villa will be in front of you.