He is currently unable to carry out his work as a teacher and various part-time jobs. No reason for Alessandro to worry about himself. He prefers to help others and has now infected over 220 helpers with his idea.
The phone rings. Alessandro picks up the receiver and answers in a calm, friendly voice: "Chioccarello from Chüniz hiuft, how can I help?" A woman belonging to the at-risk group is on the other end and needs help. She asks for medication from a particular pharmacy. He takes her details, explains the process to her and she says goodbye with thanks.
This is how it all began
More than just a WhatsApp group
Further development
How the helpers are helping
Most of the jobs are simple: buying food or medication. Occasionally there are also dog walks. But there are also special requests. "One person called at 11.45 a.m. and wanted a salad for their lunch," says Alessandro. The helpers cannot fulfil such spontaneous requests. As a rule, all orders are completed within 48 hours. Unless it's an emergency, of course, in which case someone is on the spot more quickly.
We are sitting in the garden lounge of Alessandro's parents' house in the hills of Köniz - at an appropriate distance, of course. A fountain gurgles in the background. It's idyllic and quiet here. Alessandro is quiet too. The down-to-earth young man from Bern actually has every reason to be worried. He recently completed his A-levels. Since then, he has been working as a substitute teacher on an hourly wage. He works for a security company and is active in the fire brigade and ambulance service. Until the Federal Council decides on a partial lockdown on 13 March 2020.
The 20-year-old is not unemployed despite being unemployed. His first thought was not about himself, but rather: "How can I help?" He searched online for opportunities to network with like-minded people. Via Twitter, he found the Facebook page "Gärn gschee - Bärn hiuft". He then contacted a few other helpers from Köniz. Together, they realised that there was not yet a WhatsApp group for the municipality of Köniz.
Alessandro then set up his own WhatsApp group: "Chüniz Hiuft". He shares this with the other helpers and also on the Facebook page "Gärn gschee - Bärn hiuft". At the same time, he creates a neighbourhood letter with e-mail and telephone number, which is posted in the community. He proudly and happily reports that the number of helpers has grown rapidly in just a few days. Enquiries for people in need of help from the municipality of Köniz are now all processed via this chat. However, with 60 helpers in one chat, it quickly becomes confusing. Too many messages, too many different topics.
Alessandro, as coordinator of the "Chüniz Hiuft" group, contacts the national exchange of "hilf-jetzt". Yannik Tschan then gets in touch. A developer who quit his job because he was travelling. Because travelling is not possible at the moment, Yannick programs a tool for neighbourhood help instead. The tool works perfectly, but initially has data protection flaws. The developer fixed these overnight. The tool has been in operation ever since. Helpers can register on Google Form and are then given access to the Codito page. Orders are activated there by the coordinators with a short description and can be accepted by the helpers.
One week after the launch of the neighbourhood help service "Chüniz Hiuft", the municipality of Köniz also approached Alessandro. The municipality is impressed by the system and the speed. They support the project with additional resources. They share the project on their website and organise posters and flyers. With the community behind them, neighbourhood help is being made accessible to many more households. Alessandro puts a lot of work into the project. "I like taking responsibility, which is why the whole thing is no trouble for me." However, he also emphasises that he has never wanted to impose himself and take centre stage. You believe him immediately.
Currently, Neighbourhood Help has 220 registered helpers and supports around 120 households in the municipality of Köniz. However, the number of households in need of help increases by eight to ten every day. In the system developed by Alessandro, the helpers are given a lot of responsibility. If everything goes smoothly on the first assignment for a person in need of help, both sides remain in contact. From then on, everything else is discussed bilaterally. This relieves the burden on the coordinator and also builds trust between the two parties.
Meanwhile, the midday sun beats down on the garden. It's getting hot. The fountain continues to splash carefree. Alessandro is also unperturbed. He is proud of the project and is happy to talk about it. In the same breath, however, he thanks all the volunteers. The cause is close to his heart, not his own vanity. He casually mentions that he is starting his studies at the ETH in Zurich in the autumn, but does not yet have a place to stay. Perhaps the helper can be helped with this problem one day ...
