Kuwait Awqaf Ministry seeks to set guidelines for family spending

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has made an unprecedented initiative, holding the third family development conference to address the modern-time issue, family stability in light of the prevailing culture of excessive spending, the minister indicated on Monday.Mohammad Al-Nomes, addressing inauguration of the conference, sponsored by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, indicated that the holding of the convention was in line with the ministry pioneering role at the level of family guidance.Conferees tackle "family conditions in light of spending realties, in the shadow of global economic changes that have caused problems for families," the minister said, alluding to modern-day patterns of costly spending and drastic alteration of life styles caused by moderation that has in turn caused "diverse economic, social and behavioral challenges." "The conference discusses a crucial issue that affects the livelihood of all segments of the society, family planning and future, consumption, which poses a major challenge for the family every day," the minister said.Families in Kuwait and the other Gulf countries are compelled to cope with new living costs that constitute pressure on their resources and add to their burdens, he added.Elaborating in this respect, he indicated at the role of the ministry Department of Family Development which seeks recommendations to solve family problems and cope with such economic challenges.Among goals of the conference, he adds, is boosting the culture of rationalizing family consumption and enacting laws for protecting the families.For his part, the Chairman of the Arab Family Organization Jamal Bin Obeid Al-Boh affirmed in a statement, addressed to the conferees, that the culture of consumption is a major issue that should be attentively addressed, for rationalized consumption is essential for the sustainable stability of the family.The family constitutes the "cell of the society and major factor for its social and economic stability," he said, affirming the negative tangible effects of the global economic crisis on the families.Al-Boh indicated that families should be guided to revive basic Islamic values, namely the culture of saving, vis a vis the modern-time prevailing trend of excessive spending.