Unveiling the human face of technology to help the helpers

Dubai: The sight of a 14-year-old begging changed Kanav Duggal's life. The Dubai-based teenager was given the reality check on a visit to India.

He then designed, for free, an accounting programme for a non-governmental
organisation (NGO) that promotes literacy.

For Duggal, a 16-year-old, applying a computer science project to a real life situation taught him lessons in more than just technology.

A student of grade 12 in the International School of Choueifat, he volunteered to help the Indian nongovernmental Organisation (NGO), Society for Meritorious Students, by helping them streamline their administrative process.

The Society, based in the Indian city of Chandigarh, is run by retired professionals who provide education opportunities to children of blue collar workers.

The volunteers were struggling to keep track of the details of tuition fees, books and school uniforms they provided to hundreds of students from kindergarten to grade 12.

More spare time Duggal decided to help them by creating a Microsoft Visual Basic programme for data entry, similar to a project he had done at school.

Duggal said: "The NGO was spending all its funds on the children, with nothing to spare for their administrative work."

The project fetched Duggal an ‘A' at school and proved to be effective in helping the volunteers, too. "It took two months of all my spare time [to design the programme] but it was time very well spent. It made data entry very easy and the volunteers could now generate different kinds of reports and see the data in different combinations."

This was a major change from their previous style of keeping records — on ledgers or basic Excel sheets. More importantly, however, the volunteers now have more time on their hands to dedicate to their work.

He said: "They could now plan ahead for funds and resources due to the ease with which they could see their accounts. It was easier to keep track of donations, too. Past records for up to 10 years of each child were a click of a button away."

Senior citizens

Duggal also made sure that the programme was userfriendly, as most of the volunteers were senior citizens.

Duggal came to know of the society through his grandfather, who is a social worker after retiring from Indian army. What set the ball rolling for Duggal was an experience in India, two years ago.

Duggal said: "I saw a homeless child, my age [14 years], begging for food! The memory of his face is one that I will always carry with me."

He had always felt the sharp contrast in his lifestyle in the UAE and that of countless destitutes in India, and felt that he was living in a "parallel universe".

"Having lived in the UAE since the age of two, I was sheltered against the harsher aspects of life. However, my annual summer vacations to India … have always provided me [with] a glimpse of the other side."

He was also struck by the hard work of the Society's volunteers, who were spending all their time to give the children education.

"After retiring, they could have put their feet up and relaxed, but they didn't. Instead, they decided to give something that is in short supply — their time," Duggal said.