According to a recent survey by the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, in Kenya, 41% or women and 11% of men in marriages are victims of domestic violence. The numbers of women who report battery are higher than those of men; most men prefer to suffer in silence than risk the public humiliation of being beaten by their wives.
Bonga App, a newly launched mobile app wants to leverage on technology to give victims an easier and faster way to report incidences of battery to the friends who could swiftly come to their rescue. Victims can also send out an SOS message to trusted friends to come to their rescue.
Bonga, already available on Play Store, allows users to add a list of trusted friends and loved ones. To whom he or she may wish the app to send out an SOS message to, in the event they are in danger. The ‘trusted friends’ will be notified.
There is also the ‘please pick me up’ button, which sends out the user’s current location. Making it easy for their trusted friends to drive to exactly where they are. The app also has useful information to educate users on how to protect themselves and their friends in the event of an attack. Bonga app is also targeting parents and guardians who want to monitor their child’s safety.
The app was initially created with the university students in mind; to protect them from physical and sexual violence, before being tailored for use by the general community. Other than the use to call upon friends in times of need, the app also enables you to stay in contact, as any typical social networking platform would.
To check out or download the app, head on to Play Store at this link. The app is the brain work of former Egerton University students.