A simple request for a small TV set in the children’s oncology ward of a state hospital was denied. A sick child’s treatment was interrupted due to lack of transport funds. The little patients didn’t even have a small toy to distract them from their fear of needles and pain.
That’s why in 1998 LOSEV Foundation for Children with Leukemia was founded in Ankara, Turkey to provide support and permanent solutions for children affected with Leukemia, as well as their families.
To date, the organisation has helped more than 20,000 children, with 87 percent of these coming from low-income backgrounds and 11 percent coming from no-income backgrounds.
“In 18 years, LOSEV has not only managed to raise awareness about cancer and leukemia in society, but has also raised awareness of ways to prevent these diseases and how to live a healthy lifestyle,” says Sezin Soylu, advertisement and media planning co-ordinator at LOSEV.
Using cloud to reach new heights and help more patients
To keep this momentum going, LOSEV embarked on a drive to reach new patients, volunteers and donors and form a cloud-based database, with the help of Microsoft.
Microsoft has supported the organisation for almost 10 years, in the form of technical support as well as training and education programmes for children affected with leukemia. The team had already been using Hyper V Microsoft SQL 2008 database, but was ready to progress to the next step, using Azure, for its ‘Interactive Communication Project’. Microsoft is supporting this project with a grant of $50 000 Azure credit over a period of three years.
“There were many patients who could not be reached and helped as they were not registered on the LOSEV database. LOSEV also has many volunteers and donors who are willing to be more active in the process, yet they weren’t being used effectively,” says Soylu.
“The services and support provided by Microsoft help us reach more patients in need, as well as more volunteers and donors. Having our data securely in the cloud also helps us work more effectively in the field, while saving us money by allowing us to cut down on server expenses.”
Using Azure, the Interactive Communication Department at LOSEV is able to revise its current patient, volunteer and donor information and create a more detailed database with the information needed to effectively support the patients.
Simultaneously, the department can inform potential new patients and volunteers about the organisation when they are in the field, and add them to the database immediately and remotely thanks to the power of the cloud.
“Through a more sustainable and cost-effective database, we plan to reach 1,000 new patients and 5,000 new volunteers each month,” says Soylu. “That equates to 12,000 patients and 60,000 volunteers by the end of the year, and 36,000 patients and 1,800,000 volunteers after three years.”
For Soylu and the team at LOSEV, that’s proof of the necessity of Microsoft technology for the sustainability of NGOs.
“Like the rest of society, NGOs should follow developments in technology to provide better services to their target group. Our experience working with Microsoft proves to us that they are the right partner to help us achieve our goals.”
