Emerging Technologies and Disaster Response ($2500)
Violence Prevention in El Sauce ($4928) and Joya Grande ($4,294, $4437, $4012)
Irrigation in Santa Maria ($5000)
VOZZ El Salvador ($13,905)
Emerging Technologies and Disaster Response: Using Crowdsourcing to Connect Survivors to Emergency Resources
According to the Red Cross, natural disasters have increased exponentially since 1960 and have impacted inhabitants on every continent. In the decade between 1994 and 2003, over 2.6 billion people were affected by a natural or technological disaster
and more than 600,000 died. More recently, SwissRE (2011) found that 2010 had the second highest number of disasters since 1880. However, deaths were far from diversified. Low human development countries had a seven times higher mortality rate than highly developed countries and the number of reported disasters is rising most dramatically in the low and middle human development countries (Red Cross 2004). In addition, due to inadequate response capabilities, lives that may have been saved post- disaster are often lost. Evidence from recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan has illustrated that cell phones become a critical venue for communication.
It is at the cross-section of disaster emergency relief and available short message service (SMS) technology that a theoretically engaging and potentially life-saving study emerges. I will conduct an investigation into how cell phones and new technological platforms based on Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) can be utilized to gain immediate life-saving information for
disaster survivors. The project, modeled after the Red Cross post-disaster effort in Haiti (CDCC 2011), is aimed at creating a relief platform to which survivors could text a message (e.g. food, clinic, shelter, or volunteer) and receive instantaneous survival
information. Additionally, the platform could map and match needs and abilities increasing the organization and efficiency of the relief effort as well as enabling people to come together for mutual support.
The study is simple in design. In collaboration with Fulbright Fellows Kara Andrade, who studies technology in Guatemala, Beth Tellman, who is currently living and working in a post-disaster community in El Salvador, and with the Harvard
Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), we will create a feasibility and assessment pilot project in which we design, implement and then study how this technology can be utilized at this scale. With the help of HHI, Kara will design and build the necessary platform for our project which can be remotely accessed. CEIBA will then work with 30 community members and engage a randomly-timed
mock disaster situation. Afterward, we will debrief the experience as a large group. CEIBA will be monitoring all project aspects and will follow up the experience with two focus groups, a short survey, and in-depth participant interviews. Finally, we will run diagnostics on cell phone usage and the communication platform. Our goal is to understand the social barriers and social
cohesion associated with the use of this technology based on demographics (gender, age, education, and wealth)
Objective: Install a disaster relief and response communication center of operations for the Municipal Comission of Civil Protection of Santiago Texacuangos to facilitate communications between local government response and communities for early warning and disaster reponse.
Target Communities: Santa Maria de la Esperanza, Los Planes de Joya Grande, La Playa Canton Joya Grande, Shaltipa
Budget= $2500
Financing= Ron Anderson Techonology and Social Cohesion Fellowship, University of Minnesota
Coordination= CEIBA, Ryan Alaniz (U Minnesota), Kara Andrade (Ashoka Fellow, Guatemala), Mageen Caines, Comission Municipal de Proteccion Civil, Santiago Texacuangos
Project Dates: August 2011-December 2011
Violence Prevention in Joya Grande
Cipitillos al Rescate
Coordinadors: Joceline (16), Carlos (18), Dinah (20), of Joya Grande and Jonathan (24) of CEIBA
Objective: Forma a mini-business of mythiological pinatas with 25 youth in the community so they can have an alternative form of income
Benificieries: 25 youth in the Community of Joya Grande
Situation of Youth in Joya Grande: In Joya Grande, there are no jobs for youth. Our community was basically destroyed and vulnerable after Hurricane Ida in 2009. Many of us have low self sesteen because of the storm and because we cannot contribute economically to our families. This makes us more vulnerable to turning to drugs or gangs for support. In our community, there is not even a highschool and most of us cannot afford the bus far to go to school in the nearest town, Ilopango.
Duration: 6 months (1 month planning, 3 months of designing and making pinatas, 1 month of forming a business, and 1 month of project evaluation)
Financing: $1,000 CEIBA and 3,012.45 Organization of American States (OAS) Reto Pacifico Armando Paz Contest
Projects that need funding:
Violence Prevention in El Sauce
Beth has been working with the youth group of El Sauce since October 2010. Nearly 20 teenagers in the community have an organization with a name they chose- Jovenes Unidos Buscando Desarrollo Integral El Sauce-United Youth Searching for Integrated Development El Sauce (JUBDI).
JUBDI also wrote their own project for violence prevention, which CEIBA sent to the Armando Paz competition. JUBDI’s idea is to have a “Tournament for Peace,” and discourage the attraction of joining a gang by running free and fun soccer and softball tournaments (fingers crossed that JUBDI gets the grant!) (Project Value=$4928.60)
Violence Prevention in Joya Grande
Resources have limited the ability to organize youth in Joya Grande, but all the same Joceline (16) worked with Carlos (18) and Dinah (20) to write 3 violence prevention projects in Joya Grande to send to the Armando Paz contest. One project, “Life Colors: Painting with the Youth of Joya Grande” written by Carlos, alumnus from our Painting therapy program, wants to implement a 6 month spray paint school for violence prevention in Joya Grande (Value=$4,294). The second project, “Youth are rights”, written by Joceline, is a program for youth to learn about their rights in disasters, in the workplace, and on the street. (Value=$4437.07). The third project, “Mythical Pinatas, Cipitillos to the Rescue” is written by Dinah, who wants to teach other girls in Joya Grande how to make piñatas so they can start a small business. (Project Value =$4012.45). Cipitillos to the Rescue won financing from the Organization of American States June 8th! We are still searching for financing for the other projects.
Irrigation in Santa Maria
Project “Solidarity for Local and Sustainable Nutrition”
General Objective: To implement an irrigation system for the production of organic food in Santa Maria de la Esperanza for the commercialization to the study abroad program in the UCA “Casa de la Solidaridad”
Project Update: After project design completion by Betsy Purner (SCU ´10) and National University Agronomy Student Jose Maria, CEIBA decided to implement the irrigation system with October 2011 flood relief funding, since the harvest in Santa Maria was lost. Instead of purchasing food aid, CEIBA decided to fund the irrigation system for approximately 12 families to grow their own food in the dry season, October to May. Farmers are currently growing cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, squash, beans, and more for their family nutrition and to trade within the community. This month, farmers will begin to sell crops at a high organic price to the Casa program to feed students in the UCA-Santa Clara exchange program. We hope to develop an organic agriculture praxis student site for study abroad students to spend 2 days per week accompanying the community. In addition to production expansion, future plans include an organic chicken and egg project, milk cheese, and yogurt. These animal projects are currently under project design, with the aim of fulfilling Casa program demand. Farmers are very exicted about the project and thankful to CEIBA donors for allowing them to grow their own food organically!
Budget:
Phase 1:$2,500
purchase of vegetable seeds, a large holding tank, and several kilometers of piping to bring water via pressue and gravity from a river upstream to the community
funded by individual doners as disaster relief and reconstruction from Tropical Storm 12-E, October 2011
Phase 2: $400
purchase of additional seeds, a second holding tank to expand production, and sprinker system
funded my individual CEIBA donor Mr. Bill Sladek
Phase 3: $500
purchase of flower seeds to plant natural pesticide flowers to attract white fly away from tomato plants and towards colorful flor de muerto flowers, a 3rd holding tank to expand production, additional piping
Christopher Proctor is currently fundraisng for phase 3 of the project to implement in El Salvador April 21-28.
