When help is at hand for volunteers

Sometimes good intentions are not enough. Those who work in philanthropy or social service would know that only too well. Volunteers with Udavum Karangal, an NGO that works with abandoned children and destitute senior citizens, have frequently found that they don’t have enough information when called in for a rescue operation and this hampers their efforts significantly. 

“We get several calls a day after people see a destitute person, but they often fail to give details which will help us identify them. As an NGO, we are required to have the required details for our database,” says PN Sundaresan, a member of the NGO. Now, however, there is an app to make the process simpler for volunteers and the well intentioned who want to help. Abilash Vidyakar, an engineering graduate and a Civil Services aspirant, who was raised at Udavum Karangal, after being abandoned as an infant designed it, understanding well the challenges that volunteers face in their dayto-day activities. Today his app is already touching many hearts and is helping all those who want to help out the needy but didn’t know how to go about it. 

Called Helper’s Choice, the free app, which was launched recently, is available on Google Play and is quite easy to download. There are six categories for the socially conscious person to choose from —  Rescue a Life, Report Missing Person, Share Excess Food, Surprise your Dear Ones, Donation in Cash or Kind and Join Our Network.

“After downloading the app, if someone selects ‘Rescue a Life’, he or she can log on to Facebook or Google and fill in the details about the person in need and his or her exact location. This eliminates the need for calls, to and fro, with the informer or any other form of delay in providing help,” Abilash says. Udavum Karangal is also building a database of missing persons and helping families find their loved ones. “After getting the details in this segment, we will publish their photos on various social media platforms and help find  missing people,” explains Abilash, who worked closely with the technical team that developed the app. Those who want to give away excess food or make donations can also use the app effectively. 

“We often get calls from wedding halls and hotels that they may have expected a bigger crowd and now the food has been left uneaten. We collect the food and give it to the homeless and the needy. This app has made informing us a lot simpler. Even when it comes to making donations, we have digitally recorded information, which saves us the paperwork and makes the entire process very smooth,” he says.