The Gift of the Givers Foundation, the largest disaster response organisation of African origin on the continent, has launched a first-of-its-kind mobile app to facilitate simple, seamless and secure donations.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, Founder and Chairman of Gift of the Givers, said: “With society having become so heavily invested in the technological age, our aim as a charitable body was to move into this space, providing donor organisations as well as the general public ease of access to our activities, enabling them to become involved and so make a telling difference in the lives of the needy. Immediacy of action is key today and the solution lay in the development of a unique app.”
The Gift of the Givers has launched a Greater Good initiative, enabling everyone to make a difference by downloading the Gift of the Givers app, specially designed to rally support and encourage people to engage with a common cause. The app was developed jointly by SAP Africa, Assegai & Javelin – a strategic brand and marketing agency – and app development specialists Appy.
The Gift of the Givers app was built on the SAP Cloud Platform, an enterprise platform-as-a-service offering comprehensive app development services and capabilities that enable customers to accelerate digital transformation across their businesses without the need for on-premise infrastructure investment.
Mehmood Khan, Chief Operating Officer at SAP Africa, said: “In making this app unique and true to the values espoused by the Gift of the Givers, we identified three elements considered key for public uptake. The first centred on affordability and the ability to make a difference. The second related to how people can become involved and the third focused on transparency and whether donations would reach those in need. The app ensures that the lowest point of entry makes first interaction easy at the lowest cost possible, while just three ‘taps’ gets users started. A set of feedback loops demonstrates ‘live’ evidence of the Gift of the Givers’ delivery and impact on people.”
Established 25 years ago, Gift of the Givers provides unconditional humanitarian assistance, resulting in the delivery to date of some R2.1 billion in aid to 431 countries, inclusive of South Africa. The organisation is well-known for its rapid deployment assistance in the face of disasters around the world, providing search and rescue teams, medical personnel, medical equipment, medical supplies, medicines, vaccines, anti-malarial medication, high-energy and protein supplements and food and water. Although this remains its primary function, the organisation has grown significantly since its inception, radically diversifying its humanitarian activities.
Today, it provides bursaries, agricultural self-sustainability programmes, water supply, counselling and life-skills services, entrepreneurship and employment creation programmes, the establishment of primary health-care clinics and medical support to hospitals, winter warmth initiatives, sports development, feeding schemes, the supply of household and personal hygiene packs; educational support and toy distribution, the provision of housing and care for the physically and mentally challenged, orphans and the elderly – as well as the continued deployment of specialist teams to major natural or human disasters.
“We have been humbled by the intensity of support, both financial and in-kind, we have received for our extensive activities over the years, but the needs of those in peril grow ever stronger. By being a part of the Greater Good initiative anyone can help our organisation make a difference everyday. We are committed to uplifting the most vulnerable and by using our Gift of the Givers app, you can join us,” said Dr Sooliman.
Khan added: “We have seen at a global level how businesses leverage the SAP Cloud Platform to reduce app development costs by 40-50% while cutting down on development time by as much as 75%. It’s a great privilege to see how the Cloud Platform is now being used to improve people’s lives by supporting one of our continent’s greatest humanitarian organisations, creating an easy channel for raising critical funds for the life-saving work undertaken by The Gift of the Givers Foundation.”
The Gift of the Givers app is now available, free of charge, on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
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