KenE

Hi My name is Ken Everett. I am a 60 year old South African. I had a 'Damascus road' experience 34 years ago which changed my life forever! The unemployment rate in South Africa is very high. Furthermore, many Christians have been retrenched (or constructively dismissed, as I was) and have God-given skills which are not being utilised to put food on the table. I have an idea for an App or web-based application which would facilitate Christians being able to help other Christians. Please humour my explanation: people of Islamic faith support each other in business with interest-free loans. They could definitely teach many Christians a thing or two about supporting our own brothers and sisters in Christ. This idea came to me one morning at church when I saw a notice on the bullitin board where someone was looking for a welder. I knew a welder who was looking for work, but he attended a different church! All that was needed was the age-old 'communication' to put these two Christians in touch with each other! So - my idea is to setup an App or web-based application which provides Christians who need assistance (in various fields) with an easy way to find Christians in their own town, city or area who have the required skills. This is primarily aimed at helping retrenched or unemployed Christians to find honest and God-glorifying opportunities to earn an income. Secondly, this is intended to show Christians that it is not only possible, but also better to find Christians (not necessarily from their own church) who need or are willing to provide the required services, and to support them first! The system I have designed is called PATHOS: this represents services which are offered in the following fields - Professional, Academics, Technical, Helps, Other and Sports. A volunteer (or job seeker) fills in a simple electronic form (via an App or webpage) with contact and availability information. NO fees, rates, etc are required at this point - this will be between the parties involved. This information goes into a simple database which allows people who require a specific service, to make an inquiry and find someone in their area who can help. Unemployed people in the database will be prioritized (top of list or highlighting). Once contact has been made, the 2 parties discuss dates, times and (optionally) fees. A rating system ensures that chancers are quickly removed from the system. What is needed to make this system a reality is a developer (android or web) and a sponsor. This should be a non-profit or self-funding application. Once set up, the database could provide opportunities for Christians all over the world to support and get to know each other. I have more details if anyone is prepared to assist. I believe this idea was laid on my heart for a reason and trust that it will resonate with someone in this forum. Thank you for reading! God bless Ken Everett (ken.everett.sa@gmail.com)