Slashdot Mirror
Tech NGOs Working In Haiti
d5w writes "There are a thousand and one NGOs responding in some way to the disaster in Haiti, but the necessary infrastructure is usually overlooked when people give charity donations. In fact, some popular donation sites actively downgrade charities for spending on infrastructure. Here are two organizations responding in Haiti, though, that have a purely tech infrastructure focus: Télécoms Sans Frontières brings mobile telecom rigs and satellite phones to disaster sites, making sure that responders on the ground can communicate with each other and that individuals can contact families abroad; here's an eWeek story about TSF. MapAction sends experienced GIS people and GPS equipment to provide up-to-date mapping, which is important when the landscape has just changed drastically. Any others?"
Non-Governmental Organization. Special tax status and all that apply.
My work here is dung.
"In fact, some popular donation sites actively downgrade charities for spending on infrastructure."
My guess is that it downgrades them for spending it on their OWN infrastructure (like phone lines, buildings, etc) as opposed to spending it on the recipient's infrastructure.
Infrastructure is pretty much at the top of the list for things that Haiti needs, since their "roads" look like dried riverbeds, running water is all but nonexistent, and power is provided only to major cities and only on a rotational basis.
Seriously, the Haitians _HATE_ the French. It could be the years of occupation and slavery, it could be the recent Embargo that France recommended the UN hold against Haiti, it could the $21 Billion that they demanded of Haiti in order to recognize them as a sovereign nation
Well, there's a billion and one random internet people who would rather deliver some sarcasm than help people out. Some people are at least trying.
Disaster mapping software with support for incoming SMS and email reports:
http://haiti.ushahidi.com/
OK that failed utterly. Engineers Without Borders. http://www.ewb-usa.org/haiti.php they're not doing disaster relief per se but are involved in improving infrastructure in Haiti generally.
Right now food, medical care, and water are needed today. So I would throw in, The Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, AmeriCares, UNICEF, and Doctors Without Boarders.
Here is a list of the most highly rated charities http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Haiti.html
I doubt that you can do wrong with any of them.
Oh and hats of the ARRL. A friend of mine is a HAM radio operator that works with the State of Florida Emergency management services. He was joking that he was offered an "all expenses paid two week vacation in Haiti" yesterday. He can not go because his wife is in a wheelchair and he is her care giver but other members of his group are heading off to provide radio communications for Haiti.
Last I heard the phone cable to Haiti was cut by the quake. Until that is repaired they will have to depend on satellite and radio to contact the outside world.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Openstreetmap is already showing refugee camps
see
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=18.53817&lon=-72.3414&zoom=16&layers=B000FTF
Yes, and they also hate the Americans. It could be the years of occupation and quasi-slavery (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_Haiti), it could be the recent embargo that the USA recommended the UN hold against Haiti, or the US unwavering support to Duvalier's "Papa Doc" bloody reign of terror, not to mention the plundering of Haiti by large American banks and corporations.
What's your point? My experience of Haitian people is that, while they are proud of kicking Napoleon's butt while still -- legally -- slaves, they don't "hate" the French, or the Americans. They are just tired of being treated like children or second-class human beings.
Treat an Haitian with respect, and you may find out he does not really 'hate' other people.
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
The biggest thing Haiti and similar countries need to break out of the poverty cycle is to stop their population growth. Until that happens no amount of infrastructure help will be enough.
I can honestly say that the people from Haiti I have meet have all been wonderful people. I am sure that just like every group of people their are the good, the bad, and the terrible. I don't think one can say that Haitians hate or love any group. They are people. Right now all I can say is that they need our help and we need to help.
Simple as that and I suggest that we stop damning any nation that is helping. Heck Cuba is giving the US overflight rights for relief flights. Iceland is helping out. I have the greatest respect for every group that is helping out. At this point historical grudges are useless. All that matters is the future and helping. So yes Doctors without Boarder you are great. The Red Cross. You are great. American Airline "they flew in 50,000 lbs of supplies yesterday" you are great. The USCG you are great, The USN you are great. Catholic Relief services you are great. The kid that is going to give his or her allowance is great.
GET OVER IT the arguing and give a few dollars. As Clinton said, "right now we need a whole lot of people to each give even just a little". http://bit.ly/4vM63t is a list of some of the best charities to donate to.
And to the scammers out there taking money that should be going to help. I want you found, skinned alive, rolled in rock salt, and dunked in vinegar!
And you credit card companies. If you don't want to be damned for all time wave all credit card fees for donations to reputable charities retroactively.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
(Not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders): http://www.ewb-usa.org/
They had people in Haiti when the quake struck, and some were actually missing for a while. They have at least ten ongoing projects there.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
The OSM response has been hugely impressive with commercial companies donating high quality imagery that has been mapped by volunteers around the world. The resulting data has also been put to some very good uses. See here for an early description.
That's a deeply cynical opinion of the world's humanitarian aid charities. I couldn't disagree more. After the US army has been and gone it will be the likes of Red Cross/Red Crescent, and Medecins Sans Frontieres who will provide ongoing medical support to the recovering community. These charities all declare breakdowns of where the donated money is spent. The initial relief effort has been hampered by a number of factors, but your claim that the Red Cross aren't really there to help people but simply to promote their brand and accumulate wealth is way off the mark. The people of Haiti will be in a much worse position if these groups are not present, and without donations from the public these groups would not exist at all. Maybe you're trying to justify your decision not to donate, and to some extent I'm trying to justify my decision TO donate, but I don't think you're representing these groups fairly with your statements.
I guess you missed the frequent reports of security problems complicating the delivery of aid. Were my boots on the ground trying to deliver needed "...medicines, food and water..." and my safety were threatened, my prompt would be something along the lines of "Sucks to be you, because you just chased away all the help you're going to get," as those boots retreated from the threat. It is beyond cynical to expect medical personnel and other volunteers to work where they are not safe. Time for a reality check, my friend.
Communications is the most important part at this moment, to speed up the access to water and other basic sirvival needs. The more people connected the fastest they can move to the suply places.
Even when the supplies are there security needs to be in place to preventing rioting or chaos when the supplies are distributed. A few greedy people with guns can wreck any relief effort. This slows the overall effort at the beginning of course but distribution must be organized to really be effective.
Money is a lot easier to move around and it can be use to buy what the aid organization needs and in the quantity/packaging that they want to make shipping easier.
Compare food packaged for direct consumer use and food packaged for commercial use. Now if Joe Six pack is going to donate food, is he going to donate a drum of industrial pudding or would he be likely to send a couple of snack packs of pudding? If you were an aid agency which one would you prefer to have to deal with? Or would you prefer to just go an buy what you know you'll need.
You not helping.
Really now is the time to drop all politics.
Ignore the the idiots.
Do what is right.
And give thanks and praise to all that that are doing what is right.
I already gave with my tax dollars. Great I will give even more. Tax money to save lives in a disaster? Great!
I can skip going to see a movie this week and give another twenty. I really wanted to see that movie but not as much as I want to see fewer deaths in Haiti.
I left out the USAF. They had a SOP ATC team on the ground the next day. As CNN said they walked off the plane with radios on their backs and started talking planes down.
There are lots of idiots to trash but that will help nobody.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I'm going to start an NGO specializing in business intelligence ... BI NGO.
I think the world would be better served by an NGO specializing in personal hygiene.
I bet you never ever have being starving, people riot because they know help it's being send but they are not receiving shit, theres no water, theres no food it's been 4 fucking days wouldn't you be pissed off: when some guy that can't understand you comes take a look talk something on the radio and left? They did know there were no roads why do they didn't bring a lot of helicopters, it's not that Port au Prince it a big place, no, help it's being firstly used in foreign people affected not Haiti people. I know Haiti people here that have talked with their relatives, that is what the people starving there are seeing.
They are pissed of because every nation doing rescue and medical labor are focusing in their nationals, most of the rescue teams are in the UN hotel trying to rescue, you bet, UN workers. Even here in Colombia, the first flights to return from there returned with a handful of people, mostly wealthy people, then in the news we saw commons workers from here, wounded and starving in the airport asking why the fucking C130 didn't bring them back to our country. That, my friend it's a reality check.