On weekend midnights, four like-minded youths -- one in California, one in Abu Dhabi and two in Chennai – link up on the net not for chatting or playing games. But trying to connect people across Continents, who have the urge to help others but just don't know where to look for or ask whom.
Siddharth Dudheria, Gulshan Ramesh Chand, G. Ganesh Perumal and Shriram Vishwanathan believe in “doing the right things that can help to bring change to mankind and make the world a better place.”
Not having the fear to chase their goal is what keeps them awake and in touch despite geographical distances. Three summers ago, Gulshan working in California, chanced upon a lady in the US pay pal collecting money for buying blankets for the aged in Delhi.
The appeal nudged him and he called up his batch mate from Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore, Siddharth, who was then in Madurai. The simple telephonic conversation set the ball rolling for volunteerism.
They wondered why cant the “seeker” and the “provider” be brought together instead of money passing through several hands. They searched for ‘volunteering', ‘ helping', and ‘assistance' over the internet and found results leading to complex websites. They were surprised that in this age of cyber-powered world, there wasn't a simple or single portal that allows organisations/ people to post their request asking for help and also responding to those requests.
Joining hands
The duo then roped in two more friends, Shriram who was Siddharth's classmate in Mahatma School, Madurai, and Ganesh from the same college. “We felt the lack of interface between the giver and the taker was a good take off point and decided to launch a website that would take volunteers closer to giving assistance,” shares Siddharth, a mechanical engineer working in Abu Dhabi. The venture was instantly named “Earn Karma”.
“Everybody has a streak of helpful nature but do not know how to proceed. There are people looking for help but don't know where to search. We thought ‘ Earn Karma' will connect individuals and organisations that require assistance with people who are looking to help them. The free online web service where anybody can post any help-related opportunity was launched in June 2008. There is no money involved, we only act as conduits for volunteering,” the friends echo through e-mail.
For instance, if an organization is conducting a medical camp in a village and is looking for assistance from individual(s), the request can be posted on www.earnkarma.org website. The team also declines any donations or becoming affiliated to charity organisations. “Then people worry where the money is coming from and going to. Ours is not a revenue earning project and there are no ads on our site. But we verify each post to ensure genuineness,” the four founders assure.
Creating database
Intended for both organisations and individuals seeking or providing help, initially the young team planned to provide volunteer opportunities throughout the world. “But we found it difficult to get database for other countries. We are now working on the United States and India,” informs Siddharth clarifying that one doesn't have to be from a non-profit or NGO to benefit from the site.
“If somebody wants to teach English to local teenagers, or take free classes for poor students, he or she can post it on Earn karma to see if anyone in his or her area wants to join, and accordingly coordinate with them from that post. This way, the site will also help to create new organizations locally and is currently supporting all the districts and major Indian towns,” he explains.
In the first month of its launch, it had volunteers contacting organizations such as Yogakshema in Bangalore and Vasantha Memorial Trust in Coimbatore. One user donated 500 pens to a NGO-run school in rural Tamil Nadu. An eight year old girl child in Dharmapuri requested for books and stationery to continue her studies as her poor father could not afford them.
Interface, a Chennai-based social space organisation regularly calls for volunteers to man their camps. Bhumi, another Chennai-based organisation asked for volunteers to assist in their English teaching programme for orphans. A School for Tsunami affected children requested educational material.
Positive impact
Like drops in the ocean, Earn Karma is making a difference and the friends are focussing to ensure that it works to bring a positive impact in the lives of people and society. The website doesn't cost much. Minimalistic and simple, it took Rs.30,000 for one-time set-up fee. Another Rs.7000 goes towards annual maintenance. The friends chipped in a corpus fund of Rs.50,000 each from their pocket money to launch their dream, which needs only an internet enabled PC as a start-up to ask and respond to help.
Earnkarma has already got recognition within a short span. From over 1,000 nominations, it was adjudged the Runners-up for the Hottest Start-up Award 2009 by the National Entrepreneur Network sponsored by the Tatas.
The idea of connecting two sets of people -- the seekers and the providers – has already netted 500 sign-in users and averages 100-odd spikes a day. There are administrators who check the posts daily. The quartet links up during the nights to plug in the disconnected people and assign verified status after cross-checking every post.
“It undoubtedly feels good to be of help to someone though we are not always able to do it. Everybody is in a rush to earn money and fame but how many rush to help others. We want everybody to earn good karma," the four chorus. This youth brigade has set the karmic wheel in motion. It is now for people to join them and help change lives.
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. Email to somabasu@thehindu.co.in to tell about someone you know who is making a difference)
