Oyova Contributes to World Relief
World Relief of Jacksonville assists over 600 people each year from Iraq, Myanmar, Bhutan, Cuba, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Vietnam.
While some Jacksonville residents might have trouble even finding a few of those nations on the map, director Elain Carson and her team collect lots of information on each individual so they can help with medical care, education, housing, and support with social services of various kinds. For each person they serve, World Relief has to know the name, nationality, social security number, address, medical information, and various other data.
Until recently, all this information was kept in Excel spreadsheets. Refugee Resettlement Case Manager Michelle Clowe says it was common for one person using the file to leave it open — making it impossible for others to work with it. “I’d walk all around checking the computers to find where it was open,” she says. Worse yet, Michelle continues, “Things get deleted.”
Oyova prepared an online database for World Relief to handle all the data. The database includes different levels of security for different users so that the staff can choose who will be able to edit the database and who will be able only to see the information. Since staff and volunteers may need the information at various times and places, an online solution will work better.
“It’s a lot more user-friendly and easier to use,” says Clowe. “The new database will make it much easier to get data.” That means faster service for the individuals being cared for and more efficient use of World Relief’s resources.
Oyova used input from various staff members to make sure that the solution worked the way the organization needed it to. Clowe gave the example of the volunteer coordinator planning orientation sessions at various apartment complexes. Finding all the World Relief clients living at each complex and getting word to them used to be a major project. The new database will make this type of query simple.
Technology solutions can make life better, for organizations like World Relief and for your company or organization, too. Contact Oyova to find out how.
