‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’: Using technology to bring a community together during a crisis

Meet Jerry Neo, a 27-year-old university student.

Jerry and his friends witnessed the isolation and challenges that the pandemic brought to the community during the circuit breaker period in 2020. This inspired them to create Scratchbac, a proximity-based Telegram bot aimed at encouraging communities to connect, reach out to each other for help, and share resources. 

Pictured (from top left to right): Princeton Poh, Vivekbala, Cheryl Low, Ryan Yip, Jerry Neo

Since then, Scratchbac has seen considerable growth and helped many of those in need. One user was able to find a volunteer to bring food to a relative living alone, while another came to a neighbour’s rescue during a printer malfunction. Others used the platform to organise durian group-buys – a much needed food staple for many! The platform has more than 60,000 sign ups today and over 20,000 users in its first 24 weeks since its inception.

Jerry’s plan is not stopping at just their telegram bot. To provide a better user experience and to improve accessibility to the platform, they are building The Scratchbac App. However, to create faster and to maintain the bot concurrently, they have launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter (Live till 23 Dec 2021) to expand their team.

1.What inspired you to create Scratchbac?

“The pandemic made me realise that many of us don’t really know our neighbours, especially when the circuit breaker hit. My grandma couldn’t buy her groceries like she usually did because we couldn’t be there to help her, and so I thought ‘what if her neighbours (or the community) could come together to help each other?’”

 2. Tell us about the bot. How did you come up with the name Scratchbac?

“I came up with the idea for Scratchbac because I believe there is real benefit from knowing our neighbours and the people around us. I called it Scratchbac after the phrase: ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.’

We wanted to use technology to help people reconnect on a hyperlocal level, or to put it simply, on a small and defined area (e.g. just 1 to 2km away from you). That’s because we have a lot more resources when we are connected. We’re already seeing how people are helping each other through the app, like someone managing to borrow a walking stick, or even enrolling for a course together to get a discount.”

3. What does community mean to you?

“With the ongoing pandemic, the community can come together to provide a helping hand to those facing hardships, just like the days of living in kampungs. As we move forward as a society, I hope that Singaporeans can be kinder and more understanding, and Scratchbac can be a part of that solution.”

 4. What were some of the challenges you faced in creating Scratchbac?

“It was tough at first trying to get Scratchbac going because I had to juggle my studies at the same time. Plus, we didn’t have all the skills. Thankfully, I had a team who believed in the app. We had to figure out what we needed for the app, learn about it, and then applied what we learnt to the app.”

5. What are some examples of how Scratchbac has helped bring neighbours together that has made you proud?

“We’ve seen some use the platform to connect with other like-minded individuals — they’ve come together to jog, hike etc. It is always heartwarming to see people of the same community come together like that!”

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Stay tuned to Gov.sg’s LinkedIn channel for more stories on how technology has inspired Singaporeans to make a difference.

Photo & write-up by: Plus Collaboratives