Smartphone App for House Blessing - Bejiment Tracker "As an altar-boy I used to accompany the parish priest around my ward, Goncoi, in Aldona, as he went about blessing the houses in the days after Easter.", says Leroy Lobo. "I noticed how everyone had been waiting in their houses quite a while for the priest to make his appearance. This is because everybody knows what day the priest will come, but nobody knows the exact time he will make it to their house. It could be anywhere between 4 pm and 7 pm depending on what route he takes."
Leroy, who plans to study Computer Engineering has developed a Android compliant software that will make waiting for the priest a thing of the past. Bejiment Tracker is the name of this practical App which allows anyone to track where the priest is and what route he is taking. "I spoke to my parents, and even my uncles in Carona, and realised that this what-time-will-the-priest-arrive problem has been around for generations. A quick calculation told me that in Goa itself about seventy eight thousand four hundred and twenty two man hours are wasted every year by people waiting indefinitely for the priest to turn up. Also take into account the energies wasted and the amount of money spent on phone calls to neighbours to ask if they have any clue where the priest is." "I have designed it basically for the altar-boy to initialize the app on his phone and to update it as he progresses. This is because most of the older priests are not comfortable with Smartphones.", says Leroy. Basically the app tracks the priests route and movement automatically, using GPS, and this information is made available to any Smartphone user by interacting with Google Maps or Latitude. It's basically a free App but in the Premium paid version there is further information made available. The altar-boy keys in how much donation was given at each house, so you can keep the correct amount ready at hand. Not too much or too little, all depending on what your neighbours gave. "As an ex altar-boy I could see visible signs of how long time people had been waiting. New candles burnt to more than half their length, watery Queens raspberry that has turned warm with the ice cubes having melted long back, aunties with streaks on their faces having streams of sweat running through the talcum powder..." Bejiment Tracker is in Beta Testing stage right now but will be available for download by Easter next year. Read more at: http://www.ucanews.com/news/priests-face-house-blessing-hurdles/14161 ========
