Around the world, 8.1 million people are waiting for calls from strangers. In fact, they are the volunteers for Be My Eyes and they all have a kind heart.

Be My Eyes was created in 2015 by Hans J-rgen Wiberg from Denmark. This free app connects blind people with volunteers through video calls and in this way the volunteers can help the blind with their everyday tasks. Now volunteers are a lot more than blind users. So it’s not easy for volunteers to get a call. Jane Miller from New Zealand joined Be My Eyes in 2019 but didn’t receive her first call until four years later.

Calls go out to many volunteers at the same time. If one doesn’t answer right away, another volunteer will take the call. Yan Yan, a Chinese actress, was not sure whether to join at first. She feared missing calls during performances. After learning that other volunteers would answer missed calls, she joined at once. She received her first call the very next day. Yan successfully helped an old man check on his bread. The two thanked each other repeatedly. “I was so nervous that I didn’t know why I thanked him,” she said.

Jason Brown, an Australian, was also nervous during his first call. Now he feels more confident. He recently helped a blind person cross the street. “It just felt like chatting with an old friend,” he said.