ABSTRACT
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Utilizing GIS in Social Welfare Organizations
Track:  GIS Organization and Management
Author:   Abdullah Hussain Alkadi

In Saudi Arabia, there are more than 165 social welfare organizations that deal with social welfare aspects. The Society of Benevolence at Eastern Province is one of those organizations but is considered to be the largest in terms of the geographical area it serves and also considered to be one of the largest in terms of number of people it serves. The large geographical area and huge number of people served require an enormous amount of human and financial resources in order to identify the locations of the served people. Further, analyzing geographical locations (such as work, residents, schools, etc.) related to the people served by the organization is essential. This paper discusses the experience of the Society of Benevolence at Eastern Province in utilizing GIS. In details, the maps of the cities of Eastern Province are acquired and edited using ArcInfo. Then ArcView GIS is utilized to locate the related locations (such as work, residents, and schools) of the people that are supported by the Society. A huge database is developed containing more than 95 variables (including socioeconomic, demographic, education, housing attributes, images, and etc.) that are related to the registered people in the Society. This database is linked to ArcView GIS. In addition, the Society provides transportation services for orphans and health care in houses for the registered people with chronic diseases. ArcView Network Analyst is utilized to find best routes (order) and service areas to accomplish those services. Through the GIS the Society was able to visualize and analyze different behavior of the needy people (poor, orphans, divorced, widows, prisoners and their families, and etc.) in the region. This enhances the quality of work and saves a lot of time. Further, it gives the Society a future picture about the demand of needy people in the region.

Abdullah Hussain Alkadi
The Society of Benevolence/King Faisal University
Box 2628,
Dammam, 31461
Saudi Arabia

Telephone: 966 55811576
Fax: 9663-8274859