A platform for getting more hands to help out the speechless.
Story of the project ‘PetSo’ (animal welfare web application).
Lately, the number of stray animals on the streets has been skyrocketing. Not just dogs and cats, but even animals like sea turtles, parrots, and elephants are considered to be endangered due to the destruction of their habitats and the climate change effects. Although this is not spoken of much in Sri Lanka, this is a major issue in society that needs to be addressed with serious concern. Fortunately, many Animal Welfare Organizations (AWO) have taken over the responsibility of helping out these animals. Some of the well-known AWO here in Sri Lanka are KACPAW, Justice for Animals Sri Lanka, and AWPASL, who have been conducting various welfare programs, even during the lockdown.
When we contacted some of these organizations inquiring about how they conduct their activities and what type of support they seek from others, they all had the same answers.
What all these individuals and organizations needed were ways to collect funds and the workforce for their projects. In order to do this, first, they needed to create a public presence where they could inform the public regarding their projects and their importance and encourage them to take part in them.
Their usual strategies were to conduct events in public places like stage dramas, walks, and awareness sessions. However, with the pandemic shutting down all physical restrictions, these organizations are struggling more than ever to engage in their activities. Although some do maintain websites and social media pages where they create awareness among the public, not all organizations have the knowledge and capability to utilize these platforms to raise funds and get volunteers for their projects.
In addition, most of these organizations take in animals that need rescue and/or medical attention into their shelters and then encourage the public to adopt them. Most people who confront such stray animals often inform the nearest police stations or just pass the message around until someone chooses to respond and take in the animal. Therefore, we decided that creating an easily accessible online platform that connects the public with these AWO and other individuals working towards animal welfare would help save the lives of numerous stray animals around us.
The implementation of an online platform that facilitates the management of welfare projects, donations, volunteer enrollment, animal adoption, and sponsoring, could aid many AWO in Sri Lanka to contribute to society even during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is how we identify the issue and outline the problem’s solution. The project will be a group project for my second year of the undergraduate degree program. In a future post, I’ll return with the project PetSo development procedure. Thank you for taking the time to read this. :)
