‘HELP GUYANA’, a novel software platform providing crisis management solutions, has been created to assist vulnerable individuals and communities, while providing the public with necessary services, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-founder of STEMGuyana, Karen Abrams, told Guyana Chronicle, recently, that the Help Guyana platform was developed to help citizens access convenient services, during any crisis, which, at this time, is the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsequently, it evolved into a more multifaceted application that seeks to simultaneously provide help to vulnerable communities.

This platform seeks to identify and create a database of individuals or communities that are currently at-risk, and then provide assistance to them as needed. It also encompasses a virtual “marketplace” of small farmers, from those same vulnerable communities, and allows those farmers to have their products bought.

“We don’t want it to be filled with those big companies who are doing business anyway. We want to identify those who are vulnerable, like small farmers, and get them registered in the app so that we can push business their way,” Abrams said, highlighting that she herself has been using this service.

“While the market vendor goes out every day and can hustle and bring in money, that changes during something like this (the pandemic and its resulting lockdown measures) when they can’t go out,” Abrams explained.

Within the application, there are also provisions to streamline volunteers, and aid with the production, distribution, and donation of face masks which are currently highly recommended to safeguard from the spread of the novel coronavirus.

COLLABORATION

As a way of gathering data both on those vulnerable persons who may need assistance during the pandemic, and for small farmers who can supply produce but have their markets affected, STEMGuyana partnered with the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G).

IDPADA-G representative, Elsie Harry, related that the body continuously does work in communities across Guyana, where it identifies those who are vulnerable and seek to provide ways of helping persons. This aid could be given through the provision of educational opportunities, assisting with employment or entrepreneurship, or, if needed, provide food hampers and supplies.

In doing so, IDPADA-G had pre-existing information on those vulnerable communities across Guyana and those small farmers within these communities who do not have Internet access to market their produce online on their own.

And as such, Elsie and a team were able to reach out to these farmers and create profiles for them, on the application, where they can easily market their produce and be contacted by buyers via telephone. She indicated that they were more than overjoyed to have a market for their produce at a time when there are physical constraints to doing business.

The two bodies also intend on using the produce from these same small farmers to supply hampers that they will be creating and distributing to persons currently in need. This way, they get to empower small farmers and provide much-needed assistance. Essentially, a win-win.

Local telecommunications company GTT also collaborated with the bodies, through the provision of financial assistance. GTT Marketing Representative, Jasmin Harris, noted that the company was supportive of an initiative that will have “far-reaching benefits” in aiding those persons in need during this time.

However, looking beyond COVID-19, Harry said, “Help Guyana is taking more of a holistic approach in partnership with IDPADA-G to really help the vulnerable to not remain vulnerable after coronavirus.”

The two bodies are seeking to use this platform to help with country-wide poverty alleviation measures. This will involve an integration of the technological solutions offered by STEMGuyana with the community outreach orientation of IDPADA-G.

“We are constantly looking for ways to help with poverty alleviation… We’re not just looking to give people fish, but certainly teaching them how to fish and that continues to be a long-term goal of ours,” Abrams asserted.