Be My Eyes: When the Power of Community & Technology Combine for Social Good

Published: 09 November 2018

From helping to read an energy meter, picking out a pink t-shirt from a stack of colours, setting the washing machine cycle and helping to figure out why the baby’s food tasted unusual – are just some of the ways in which I have personally been able to assist a blind or visually impaired person in going about their day-to-day tasks.

Be My Eyes is the perfect marriage of technology and community. It is an app which allows the blind or visually impaired to place a call to a network of now just under 2 million sighted volunteers worldwide. The application launches a video chat between the two parties, allowing the sighted party to assist the blind or visually impaired caller with whatever task it is that they are trying to carry out, even allowing the sighted party to enable or disable the torch on the blind or visually impaired’s device.

A more simple digital solution to an issue which affects so many across the globe, I am not sure you could find.

What Makes this Work?

Having read up on why the blind or visually impaired find this application, which is in essence a prosthetic of the digital world, such a valuable tool, is based on the feeling that many in this community often feel like a burden to those closest to them, when continuously asking for assistance with everyday tasks. Naturally, this responsibility normally falls to close family or friends who receive multiple calls a week – all while trying to get on with their own lives, ultimately leaving those in need of support feeling uncomfortable about their continued need for assistance.

On the part of the volunteer, this application fills a very basic human yearning, the want to be able to contribute toward the greater good of society. Volunteers on the platform experience pride along with a sense of good and a resultant feeling of happiness as a result of being able to help someone, even if it is in the smallest of ways. The environment created by Be My Eyes enables the ability for anyone around the world to be able to put themselves in a position where they are able to be of assistance to another in a low-friction, short lived engagement.

But what if the recipient of the call does not accept or is busy themselves?

The beauty of Be My Eyes is that the network of volunteers is so great that when one person is busy, there is always someone else who can take the call. This ensures that the person seeking assistance is never left without the support they require, while also ensuring the volunteer is not left feeling inconvenienced.

Willing Buyer Willing Seller

The result of these two concepts means that the blind or visually impaired need no longer feel like they are being an inconvenience. In addition, those who would like to do more by giving back a little of their time for the greater good are able to do this in a manner which is guaranteed never to be an inconvenience to them.

Be My Eyes truly shows what the power of technology, a sense of community and a simple idea can do to help solve real world societal challenges.

Download

iOS Download Link: https://apple.co/2BYS5OP
Android Download Link: https://bit.ly/2B1Xrr6

The Be My Eyes’ tutorial showing how their solution changes lives.

Be My Eyes creator, Hans Jørgen Wiberg, and how he came to conceive the idea.

About the Author

With a keen interest on all things commerce in Africa, Alex avidly keeps abreast of digital solutions providing answers where difficult to solve problems once existed. Alex has worked in this domain for the last decade advising clients on customer attraction and experience across a multitude of industries. It is with this knowledge and keen interest that he continues to advise the clients of Digital Advisory Africa, ensuring they too thrive in these exciting but disruptive times.

About the Author

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