Connecting For Care, an interactive online platform, has officially launched to provide social support to quarantined workers in Qatar, offering members the opportunity to talk to someone in their own language about community-related topics. 

The interactive Connecting For Care website will be manned by trained volunteers who will offer multi-lingual conversations with workers and provide government-approved information about protective measures against COVID-19, including useful advice on staying fit and healthy, and opportunities to continue learning Arabic and English languages, virtually.

Live one-on-one chats and conversations are available in English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Bengali, Malayalam, Sinhala, Tamil, and Tagalog.

Developed in response to the current COVID-19 crisis, Connecting For Care is a digital community collaboration between Qatar Foundation (QF) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) – a global health initiative of QF; Education Above All Foundation through its programme Reach Out To Asia (ROTA); and Modaris (Dlala Smart), a local EdTech company founded by an alumnus of Texas A&M University at Qatar, also a partner university of QF.

The initiative is endorsed by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as it complements the ongoing work of the government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The volunteers, who are specially selected from ROTA’s extensive database, receive comprehensive online and virtual training to provide the service digitally from within their homes, ensuring physical distancing requirements are maintained across volunteers and community members at all time.

By facilitating a connection between communities, the project aims to build bridges between members of society, improve literacy through training tools and contribute to the social well-being of all parties.

Providing a helpful and meaningful connection as well as health and language learning assistance in response to COVID-19 is of great importance to multiple stakeholders involved in the project. People may find themselves vulnerable to heightened stress during this time and this initiative aims to not only support people amidst the current health crisis, but to also reduce anxiety and fear during this challenging time.

Connecting For Care is accessible through this link: cfc.qa.