A new, made-in-P.E.I. app is helping Islanders in seven languages.
NUWELCOM is a free digital application software, or "app", that connects users to schools, walk-in clinics, waste pick-ups and local events in one, multilingual spot.
It was developed by Khalid Shami, who was inspired at an immigration summit that asked: “What does it mean to make P.E.I. home?”
“Being in technology for 20 years – more than 20 years – I always feel that technology is the answer for any problem I face,” said Shami. “When (newcomers) see that information there in their own language, that can help a lot.”
For example, last year, when post-tropical storm Dorian swept through the region, some newcomers brought their children to school the next day.
“It was announced there was no school, but they don’t have access to that information,” said Shami. “The information is available, but it’s available only in English. Sometimes language is a barrier for those that don’t speak English very well or they are not (familiar) with social media, which accounts to follow.”
So, Shami developed NUWELCOM to help in English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Vietnamese and Spanish.
The content on the app comes from reliable sources, usually a government source, said Shami.
To get started, Shami joined forces with Duncan McIntosh.
"He’s a community guy," he said.
Together, they created the app and, at the same time, built a team of local designers, quality assurance testers, administrative workers, content writers and social media experts.
Shami’s vision is to “build strong communities faster”.
“We encourage Islanders and newcomers to receive the information in their own languages so they can contribute, engage, help in their community,” he said.
Shami came to P.E.I. more than four years ago with his family.
“Since then, I love P.E.I.,” he said. “Here, your neighbours help you, and this is a way to give back to the community.”
According to the analytics, just under 700 users have downloaded the app since the launch in June, and the company has received a lot of positive feedback, said Shami.
One of the early features was a notification about school closures.
NUWELCOM sends a message to users within minutes of the notice going up on the school board website.
“This was a hit among the students,” said Shami.
His daughter’s friend, who is in Grade 9, told him she’s now the first one of her friends to know when school is cancelled
“Most of the teenagers, they don’t listen to the radio,” he said.
Timeliness of the notifications is just one of the benefits to using the app.
Shami is also committed to keeping users’ data private.
“We are a community-based application, we want to make sure that the residents here on P.E.I., their privacy and their data is protected,” he said. “NUWELCOM believes in community first. So, we do not track our users, nor do we sell our users' data and we never will.”
For more information about the NUWELCOM app, click here.
