– capable of connecting donors, the vulnerable, and businesses

By Tamica Garnett

STEMGuyana, with the aid of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), is currently working on an app, HELPGuyana, to serve as a platform to connect persons in need, with those wanting to help out.

The platform will also be used to connect businesses, as well as consumers and delivery services, both within the ten Administrativer Regions and across the country.

Described as Guyana’s first-ever crisis-management web and mobile app, HELPGuyana will allow for households in need of support to register to be able access assistance, while there will also be a “marketplace” feature, where businesses will be able to advertise their goods and services, and delivery services will also be able to register.

With persons being asked to remain indoors as much as possible, the need for delivery services has been on the increase.

Companies offering delivery services all over the country will also be able to register and recruit volunteers for registered agencies. The app will also carry a security module that will enable users to anonymously report cases of domestic violence, fraud and abuse.

Developed by a stakeholder group of women from STEMGuyana, in commemoration of International Day of Girls in ICT, the app is being coded by Coily.us creator and STEMGuyana co-founder, Asha Christian.

SOON COME

The app is expected to be uploaded to android and Apple stores by next week.

Director of STEMGuyana, Karen Abrams, conceptualized the idea for the app, following several conversations with UG Lecturer, Dr. Mellissa Ifill.

“During every major crisis in Guyana, it is our vulnerable citizens who suffer most, and we wanted to use technology to identify these persons, and create a way to get them help in an organised and reoccurring manner,” Arams said.

Having served as Director Of Risk Management for Earthlink Networks in Atlanta, Georgia, Abrams has multiple years of experience in the Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery Space during her time spent in Corporate America.

The current version of the HELPGuyana app is customised to meet the demands of the COVID-19 crisis, allowing those with masks to sell and donate a portal to share that information. However, the app will come in useful long after the COVID crisis will have died down.
“It’s important that we understand the scale and forms of vulnerabilities that exist in various communities, whether urban, rural or interior, and use technology to address same. Ultimately this app will place the needs of people, as they define them, at the centre of our planning and giving,” Dr. Ifill said.

COVID RESPONSE

The app is a direct response to concerns developing from measures being implemented as a means of stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Since registering the first case on March 11, Guyana has recorded 57 confirmed cases of the virus.

To curtail its spread, Guyana, like many countries across the globe, has implemented several measures requiring persons to remain indoors as much as is practicable. Several businesses have had to close, after having to terminate staff, and many self-employed persons have also had to give up their means of income.

The vunerable and poor are expected to be the hardest hit by the situation. To help mitigate the crisis, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) as well as several private organisations and individuals have been distributing social relief hampers, donating at times as much as $30,000 worth of food and sanitisation products to less fortunate communities.

With many private Guyanese citizens and organizations being willing to help, it is hoped that HELPGuyana will be able to be used as a tool to bridge that gap.

For its development, the project has received US$1500 in support from.

GTT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Justin Nedd, said the company is delighted to have supported the creation of the app.

“We are always on stream with STEMGuyana’s initiatives as it continuously aims to bridge gaps in society through technology. I hope that persons utilize this app, especially during this time, to assist each other as we work to flatten the curve; we are in this together,” said Nedd.

STEMGuyana is also expected to work along with the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), an NGO that focuses on aspects of community development primarily in AfroGuyanese communities, but also with a focus on vulnerable communities.

“We are connected with a network of farmers and other suppliers that we will connect with the application to get their products out to consumers,” noted IDPAGA-G Sustainable Community Development Officer, Elsie Harry.