Three weeks ago, 15 youths from the Malay/Muslim community decided to come together and create a free carpooling app for mosque-goers.
Terawhere, now in the final stages of development, will be launched on Friday, tying in with the start of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.
Before going to the mosque, drivers can key in a meeting time and location, and share their vehicle number plate and car colour using the app.
Those looking for a ride to the same mosque can use an in-app map to search for a nearby driver.
Ahead of the launch, 400 passengers and drivers have already signed up through a link provided by the app creators, after discovering the app online, said co-developer Tengku Hafidz, 24.
The app, which will be rolled out for Android phones for a start, was unveiled at the Touch of Ramadan Celebrations launch yesterday.
Its name draws reference from terawih prayers: The main form of night worship during Ramadan.
Speaking to reporters at the launch at Masjid Al-Ansar in Bedok North, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim applauded the idea of carpooling.
“There are a (few) more improvements they have to make, but I think the idea of carpooling and sharing, especially during the month of Ramadan, is certainly a wonderful idea, not only to save the environment but also to build communities,” he said.
Healthy eating will feature heavily during Ramadan this year, with the Health Promotion Board partnering the South-East Mosque Cluster to print a booklet of 20 healthy recipes, including for dishes such as chicken nasi biryani and curry fish.
“I’m glad there’s a lot more information now that’s being spread so that people can understand what are the healthy dishes that they can continue to cook,” said Dr Yaacob.
Mosque madrasah and mosque kindergarten students between the ages of five and 16 will be issued 10,000 donation cans, and they will be encouraged to save their daily pocket money during Ramadan in these cans.
Funds will go to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund after Hari Raya. The aim is to raise $850,000.
Junyuan Secondary School student Mohd Irfaan Mohd Ariffin, 15, received his can yesterday and said he will be depositing S$5 daily — all of his pocket money — over the next few weeks.
“Even though Muslims are (taking part) in this programme, it also serves the needy who are non-Muslim … it’s an impressive way to promote racial harmony,” said Irfaan.
The line-up of activities includes Quran Hour: A time for all Muslims to recite the Quran together across the various mosques on June 11.
Source: http://www.todayonline.com
