DaveVsCovid19 – Stay Safe, Stay Informed.

Despite the coordinated effects of the government and various organizations, the magnitude of the pandemic is curving up and down with every passing day. While vaccination drives are of utmost priority and various local centers being designated as vaccination centers, it still is a herculean task controlling the spread of the virus and at the same time treating the affected ones. Taking covid19 initiative into consideration governments and healthcare organizations are already working way beyond capacity to ensure public health and safety, it’s high time everyone of us take up individual responsibility to contribute our part in battling this pandemic.

Amidst this national crisis, we realized that the first week of the crisis was way beyond our control. People around suffered due to sickness, improper attendance, non- availability of resources and inability to make the right decisions due to lack of information. It is during this week that we, at DaveAI realized that irrespective of the size of the team and the resources available, every minor effort and contribution would mount up over itself and provide assistance to the required in the need of the hour

Speaking of the current scenario countrywide, Ananth , CTO of DaveAI mentioned – “The crisis we are facing as a country today is probably something we as a nation haven’t faced in many decades. This sort of crisis brings out the best and worst in people. Every one of us should try to help each other out, be better people than we are, and not be bitter about the neighbors, the government, and the hospital staff.

Personally and as a company we are doing our best in contributing our time, knowledge, and resources. We are trying to streamline information from different sources, finding ways to provide validated information to those in need. We are also stretching our resources to help the poorer sections and those who are not English savvy, but still fantastic citizens of our country who are desperate.

I wish that we all come together and give up our differences, our political opinions, and preconceived biases to help people genuinely from our heart;  but also prevent those who sort to harm the ones in need from doing so.”

Our covid19 Initiative-

Understanding the rising spread rates and cause of concern among the public, we committed ourselves to contribute in every possible way to assist people in this crucial time of need. Witnessing uncertainty and dispersed information all around, we began researching the most verified and legitimate sources of information and collating them at a single place to enable easy access to verified and streamlined information. We aim to help individuals take informed decisions to ensure safety as well as credibility.

To provide accurate and verified information to the users, we have collectively launched a taskforce named  DaveVsCovid-19.

Through this taskforce, we are aiming to focus on two key pillars –

• Extend our technology to support any resource coordination effort.
• Understand how we can leverage our human resources to create a multiplier effect on volunteering efforts.  

We gathered a team of 15 volunteers and organized ourselves into two groups to handle various segments of the taskforce-

  1. Technology-

Teaming up with similar Nasscom Deep Tech Club entrepreneurs, we are working together building up a single point of information to help Covid patients and caretakers providing information and resources – Mission Humane. Users can access the webpage to get the latest update regarding oxygen cylinders, plasma, ICU beds, medicines etc. Interested individuals can also volunteer to assist the ones in requirement.

Beyond this, the team is also working independently on the below aspects,

Plug in to existing sources of information on both requests (who seek help) and sources (who provide help) and channel this information to volunteers

Extend Dave’s conversational interface to deliver relevant information to people in need, in local languages through a vernacular whatsapp chatbot. This is being used by Dave volunteers to find and share information to those in need.   

A volunteer portal for both DaveAI and external volunteers to access information on who needs help and share information on sources in real time.

2. Volunteer Operations–

Update & Manage Information on supply sources (Resources)-Ensure our team of volunteers have sufficient and updated information on verified sources. 

Update & Manage Information on demand Requests (People in Need)-Ensure our team of volunteers have updated information on requests that are closed and are open. 

Distribute Information – To access ready and updated information regarding the resources available at various areas and disseminate them to those who require help through messages and calls.

Our Commitment-

Through this initiative, we would like to motivate other similar teams to take up similar responsibilities and contribute their part in battling the current situations of uncertainty.

Stay Informed- To access ready and updated information regarding the resources available at various locations and the point of contact for the same, click here.

To enable the users to get required information regarding the resources, we have launched an interactive whatsapp bot designed for the purpose of chatting with the user to resolve their queries. The chatbot is capable of personalised interactions bridging the gap between the requirements of the user and the availability of resources.

How to Access-

To access the information about the availability of the resources and the poc to inquire about the same, individuals can message +919321238607 on whatsapp.

They can also click here to access the link to the chatbot. This chatbot is capable of interacting in English, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu

Here’s how some of our clients are extending a helping hand to fight against the pandemic-

• Maruti Suzuki – Together against Covid– Maruti Suzuki has partnered with the government and took up various responsibilities like donating 12 lakh triple-ply face masks, mobilizing production of ventilators, masks and PPE to support India against Covid and various other contributions including cloth for the manufacture of face masks, etc.
• Karnataka Bank – Karnataka Bank has taken up various initiatives like donating 10 lakhs towards Covid 19 Relief measures,  launching a special health insurance policy to cover the uncertainties posed by COVID -19 pandemic, offering its customers relief under Resolution Framework in respect of loan etc.
• Pidilite –  Pidilite has contributed 25 crores to the coronavirus relief fund in order to help battle the pandemic. It has also taken up various safety initiatives to educate as well as ensure the safety of its workforce in its attempt to control the transmission. 
• Merino Laminates – Merino under the Sankat Mochan Campaign has carried out various Awareness programs, Sanitization drives across villages, distributed medicines free of cost. It has also encouraged and enabled underprivileged families to produce Face Masks which were distributed across the Country. The proceeds from the family.
• Axis Bank – Axis Bank has decided to set aside a whooping sum of 100 crores to support customers, employees, vendors and government agencies in the fight against coronavirus. It has streamlined a process to allow individuals to donate money to the PM-CARES Fund and join the fight against coronavirus. Coupled with these, it has also announced relaxation in various aspects like minimum balance fee, digital transaction charges etc.

Stay safe, Stay informed!