Ushahidi: Citizen Reporting and the Haitian Relief Effort

In the aftermath of last week's earthquake in Haiti, the global tech community is actively searching for ways to aid rescue and relief operations. Over the weekend, volunteers in various US cities met for CrisisCamp Haiti. One of the most interesting efforts I've been tracking for a while is a citizen-reporting and online mapping platform called Ushahidi. The idea is straightforward, but potentially very powerful: to harness the power of cell phone text messaging, online maps and ordinary citizens to gather and distribute information in real time, especially in the wake of conflict or natural disaster. 

No surprise, then, that a global team of tech volunteers and humanitarian workers took that platform and got a Haiti page up and running quickly after last week's devastating earthquake. "Literally, within two hours the basics of the platform were up and running," Patrick Meier told me. Patrick works with Ushahidi, and heads the International Network of Crisis Mappers. 

With local cell service down and little chance of getting text messages out of Haiti, the Ushahidi team started by taking mapping information coming in from mainstream media outlets, and via Twitter (see hashtags #haiti and #haitiquake). They also created an email address where citizens could submit reports, or news of missing persons (haiti@ushahidi.com). 

Finally, and most critically, they reached out to Haiti's largest cell provider, DigiCel, to create a text message short code where citizens in Haiti could send an SMS about their location, and their needs. DigiCel allowed Ushahidi to use the short code 4636 (INFO). 

But the big question was this: how do you let Haitians know there's an SMS short code for reporting crisis information, when all around them is complete chaos? Well, via the old-fashioned wireless of course. "We had someone from inSTEDD, one of our NGO partners in Haiti, get in a four wheel drive with a list of 10 operational radio stations," said Josh Nesbit, of Frontline SMS, another group that is involved in the Ushahidi Haiti project.

"Our inSTEDD person went and had face-to-face conversations with DJs, and so the news of the short code was broadcast. We're also putting up posters with the short code, and working with the Red Cross to spread the word."

There are still serious obstacles to fully implementing the Ushahidi platform in Haiti right now. First of all, electricity. Without power, cell phones can't be charged and used. Also, most people in Haiti use pay-as-you-go cell phones, which means they need to buy credit at local shops. Those local shops are only just now beginning to reopen. And then there's the cell service itself, which was badly affected by the earthquake.

DigiCel's Kevin White told the BBC that "good cell service" has been restored to the Haitian capital, and that he hopes full coverage will be back by the end of this week. The company has also given all of its 2.1 million Haitian subscribers five US dollars worth of credit, so that they can use their phones to call and text.

Ushahidi is now starting to see the information flow in earnest, with hundreds of messages coming in via text, Twitter, and the web. 

"We're crowdsourcing crisis information. For example, if someone says they're in Port-au-Prince, then we'll immediately map that, and note that this person has gone missing at that particular location. That hopefully helps responders on the ground follow up on that," Ushahidi's Patrick Meier said.

The tech can't work by itself. Ushahidi is currently employing "a couple of thousand volunteers, including French and Creole translators," according to Josh Nesbit. "They're taking free form text message data, tagging it by category and location, and then feeding that back to aid groups on the ground."

By the way, here's a bit more background on Ushahidi, which means "witness" or "testimony" in Swahili. Ushahidi was the brainchild of Kenyan bloggers and some concerned technologists. They developed the platform in the aftermath of post-election violence in Kenya a couple of years ago. I first reported on Ushahidi in January of 2008. The platform has since been used for things like tracking violence in Gaza, and monitoring elections in India.

Haiti Earthquake: How You Can Help The Victims:


• The American Red Cross is accepting donations by phone. You can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross's efforts, or call 1-800-Redcross or 1-800-257-7575. Visit their Web site to find out more.
• Interaction, the largest coalition of U.S.-based NGOs focused on the world’s poor, has set up a Haiti relief donation page, listing several participating organizations where you can donate.
• UNICEF is also accepting donations for the relief efforts in Haiti and the Caribbean region. Visit their Web site or call 1-800-4UNICEF to donate.