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Tokai Forest murder births Cape app hackathon in quest to fight crime

A group of developers in Cape Town, the city reputed to be the most dangerous in South Africa, are planning on coming together to use technology as a tool in the fight against crime.

A hackathon has been planned to rally techies in the Mother City to create the Hamba Safe app, aimed at enabling people to run, walk or cycle safely.

The idea for the Hamba Safe hackathon arose shortly after the story of Cape Town teen, Franziska Blöchliger, who was raped, robbed and murdered earlier this week after going for a jog alone in the Tokai Forest, sending shockwaves across the country.

“These crimes have triggered conversations this week about the need for a solution for people wanting to enjoy the outdoors safely,” the Hamba Safe Facebook page reads.

“Whether it’s recreational walking, running, cycling or simply trying to get from point A to B regardless of your location, an app is required that will enable safety in numbers by helping people easily connect and plan for any ‘on the fly’ or pre-arranged activity,” the page continues.

A rough plan for how the app will work is that in order for users to sign up through the app, they’ll have to go through a validation processes such as a login and ID validation to ensure that access and participation is limited to authentic members.

A user can then create an event such as: “I am going for a 10km run leaving from X, my pace is 6km per hour, anyone want to join me?”

A minimum number of participants for an event can be set, thereafter other users will then be able to subscribe to the event (the organiser can approve or reject subscriptions), and all participants can see who is joining the run.

If a participant can no longer join the event, they remove themselves and the app notifies the rest of the group, so that they aren’t left waiting for them.

Hamba Safe will start out as a smartphone app and then look at creating a solution for feature phones.

Hamba Safe organisers, Sham Moodliar and Elizabeth Senger, say by pooling the very best minds in Cape Town to develop a purpose-built app from scratch, the hackathon can be successfully held over two days.

Hamba Safe is specifically looking for Android Developers, IOS Developers, SQL Developers, .Net Developers, Mobile UI designers, Testers and Analysts to offer their skills.

It’s also in need of sponsors who will supply a suitable location and catering for the event.

“The key is that this is a social initiative. People care and this way they can work together to actually make a difference for the future. This is at the heart of the shift towards connected value creation,” Moodliar and Senger said.

If you’re interested in joining Hamba Safe, visit the Facebook page for more details.

[UPDATE: Hamba Safe is hosting its hackathon starting today at Workshop 17 at the V&A Waterfront]

[Source – Hamba Safe, image – CC Public domain at Pixabay]

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