A Pinelands teen is heading to an international science fair in America to show off an app he has developed.
Pinelands High matric pupil Matthew Collier-Reed,18, will present his project to help people get the help they need easily and quickly at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles, California, in May.
Matthew started working on the Community Support app last year. It directs users to an appropriate service from a list that includes homeless shelters, hospitals, police stations, rehab facilities and child-and-youth support centres.
“The community platform came from my own experience,” said Matthew. “We find many people knocking on doors and on gates looking for food and help. We can provide help, though I would ask the question how far would that help go in a week from now?”
Based on a user’s answers to a list of questions, Community Support, which links with WhatsApp, will provide them with contact information for the nearest appropriate service.
“I wanted to create a platform that people could access and provide them with the necessary support,” said Matthew.
Community Support is only available in the Western Cape, but Matthew hopes to increase its reach to the rest of the country.
Matthew won a gold medal for the project at the Cape Town Expo in August last year. He won another gold medal as well as bursary to study at Wits at the Eskom Expo last October, and in December last year, he heard that he had been invited to present the project at the ISEF.
“It’s an amazing honour to take part in this fair in California. It goes to show that what I am trying to build has a place in our society and that people are supportive of this project being developed.”
Pinelands High School’s science and innovation fair coordinator Nicole Masureik said the school was very proud of Matthew’s accomplishments.
“He has shown resilience and persistence in designing the various iterations of the app as well as a deep love for his community in meeting the need to easily and quickly link people to local services.”
To use the Community Support app, add 068 088 0919 to WhatsApp and type “hello” to get started.
