In his latest app roundup, SEAN BACHER highlights the Ozow Revolution, MTN MoMo’s food vouchers, Twitter helping those feeling hopeless, free literacy from Lyra, and Molao365’s free legal advice.
When someone in South Africa, Nigeria and
Kenya searches Twitter for terms associated with suicide or self-harm
on Twitter, the top search result is now a prompt encouraging them to reach out
for help. The notification includes the contact details of a local non-profit
organisation that provides critical mental health resources to people in need:
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in South Africa,
Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and Amref Health Africa in
Kenya.
“Many people turn to social media to share their feelings of
helplessness and hopelessness,” says Cassey Chambers,
operations director at SADAG. “To be able to give these people a
resource to access help in a time of crisis is helpful to SADAG, so that we can
help more people who feel like suicide is the only option. If more people know
how to contact us we can help and support more people and prevent more suicides.”
Twitter has a dedicated reporting form
for people threatening suicide or self-harm. A specialised team reviews these
reports and, upon receiving them, they make direct contact to let the
individual know that someone who cares about them has identified that they
might be at risk. Twitter will provide online and hotline resources and
encourage them to seek help. Twitter also shares information on its Help Centre both for
people who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide and self-harm, and for
people who are concerned about others on Twitter.
Platform: Any device running a Twitter client
Stockists: Visit the Apple App Store for Google Play store to
find a client that best suits your needs.
Expect to pay: A free service
Read more on the next page about a free app to learn English literacy, and an app for legal advice.
