The white flag campaign does not require you to only help those in need with monetary assistance; any contribution that helps to smooth the aid process is also counted.
Sambal SOS app, an app that connects those who need help with those who are willing to help, was created in four days by a group of three MMU computer science students aged 18 to 21.
This ingenious app created by three young lads, wanting to be only known as Sidharrth, Cornelius and Shaun has empowered this campaign by making it easier to identify those who have raised white flags or known as (#benderaputih).
Following its launch, the team has been constantly at work addressing bugs that appeared as a result of the high volume of traffic and frequent updates required.
“We tackled them one by one and are still discovering new bugs every day. The development time was very short, around four days, so we’re constantly upgrading.
“A lot of people have provided us with new food bank lists, so we’re working on crowdsourcing all that data into one platform,” Sidharrth said.
How this app works
To access the platform, users simply need to sign in with their Google account.
The app’s operation is simple and clear. Those in need can send an SOS to request assistance or gain access to the app’s list of food banks.
Meanwhile, others can report those who are raising white flags and in need of help, or they can direct aid to them.
“If you see someone who needs help, you can snap a photo in front of the house, without any faces in the photo, add the location and write a brief description.
“After that, it goes through a review where we check whether the information breaches privacy, whether faces are shown or if it’s spam. We review, edit and approve. After that, it shows up on the map,” Sidharrth added.
The platform lists nearly 80 food banks across the country, with SOS reports ranging from the Klang Valley to Perak and even Sarawak.
What do you think of this initiative? Let us know in the comment section below.
Source: FMT
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