Fad is a single mother living with her infant daughter in Johor, and like many others, she is finding it tough to get by as the Covid-19 lockdown shows no signs of easing.
“I was not lucky enough to get a job and there's no more money in my savings,” she told Malaysiakini.
Unemployed and with another mouth to feed, she held herself back from joining the #BenderaPutih campaign to raise a white flag to call for aid.
“I did not raise a white flag in front of my house because my family still has food,” she said.
Nevertheless, Fad needed milk and diapers for her daughter and reached out to a local association in Kluang where she stays in hopes of getting assistance.
“Maybe there's a lot of people asking for help, so I waited for four days. But still, there was no response from them,” she said.
That’s when she found kitajaga.co, a web application created by a local tech company to connect those who need help with those willing to provide it.
The user interface is straightforward. Upon entering the site, Fad saw a map with red marks indicating where help is needed and blue marks indicating where help is available.
Red and blue buttons sit at the bottom of the page. Fad clicked the red one on the left with the words "Saya perlu bantuan" (I need help).
Within a day, she said five people called to offer help.
“I have received a few packs of diapers and milk formula for my daughter.
“It really helped my situation, I'm really thankful. The help from people through this app was able to cover my daughter's needs for a month,” she said.
An avenue for giving to those in need
Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur, Farrah Adelina clicked on the blue button on the bottom right with the words "Saya ingin bantu" (I'd like to help).
The 25-year-old talent strategist had been volunteering at a vaccination centre prior to the white flag campaign kicking off.
“I've always had a passion for charity work, but I was afraid to start my own campaign because I thought nobody would donate.
“So, during movement control order (MCO) 3.0, I started volunteering at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL)'s vaccination centre on weekends.
“Upon meeting hundreds of people, it just warmed my heart and that's when I went like 'that's it, I'm doing this','' she told Malaysiakini.
Farrah decided to share her idea of starting an aid campaign with her friend Tania.
“What meant to be me passing her cinnamon rolls I baked for her turned out to having her on board for this campaign,” she said.
Soon, the duo became a group of four youths collecting cash donations from the public to buy and deliver aid to families in Kuala Lumpur.
Then, they discovered kitajaga.co, which helps Farrah and her team find those who need help more easily.
“You can choose to call or WhatsApp those in need immediately to get their details,” she said.
Despite some issues, she has a generally positive view of the app.
“The app is laggy at times, but that's due to the number of people using it. For now, I feel this app is amazing and really serving its purpose."
App team is growing
Over one million visits to the kitajaga.co site has been recorded since Reza Razali and his team launched the app on July 5.
Reza, the founder of Terato Tech, the tech firm behind kitajaga.co, said the idea for the app came from his colleague who suggested a simpler way for people to either look for white flags or call for help during the lockdown.
“A good app should have a clear call to action when you open it, hence ours has two core buttons and a user interface that you can browse through,” he told Malaysiakini.
About 7,000 people had asked for help on the site as of last Saturday, he said, while some 15,000 others had offered help.
“We started with five people. Now we have seven tech personnel and four to five team members manning support,” said Reza, whose firm has 14 years of experience in developing digital products.
The app is only available through the web, and for good reason: it saves the cost of having to develop separate mobile apps, and rides on the fact that many Malaysians use their smartphone to access the internet.
“We plan to make the platform more secure and safer whilst maintaining its decentralised and peer-to-peer (P2P) spirit,” he said.
P2P is an internet term meaning kitajaga.co users can interact directly with each other without a third-party intermediary.
While there have been reports of some using the app irresponsibly by asking for items such as a smartphone or large sums of cash, Reza is optimistic that most users will not abuse the service.
“Many asked how to avoid scams on kitajaga.co. At first, even I was worried, but now I see those who need help usually only take what they need.
“(They) aren’t taking more even when facing hardship. Much respect (to them),” Reza tweeted with screenshots of users asking him to take down their white flags on the site after getting the help they need.
As the economic situation remains tough with no end in sight for the lockdown, many organisations like Reza’s as well as self-initiated groups are starting their own projects to ease the burden of hard-hit individuals and families.
For Fad, she is happy that she received much-needed supplies for her daughter.
“The app was really helpful, kudos to Reza. I feel relieved, at least for one month - I have enough for my daughter’s needs," she said.
“But I’m still not in a good situation, it's hard to get a job. I'm just hoping God will help Malaysians; we are extremely exhausted (by the pandemic). We want to be free like other countries." - Mkini
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