And so we got started with the mapping. It was a welcome change to be involved in an Ushahidi deployment not prompted by a major crisis. Indeed, I had a good chuckle mapping this picture of an NYPD car stuck in the snow near Union Station. We got the word out via Twitter (of course) so retweets were key. But the real win would be a partnership with a media group (so get in touch if you’re interested!). Ryan mentioned that they started receiving dozens of reports an hour after the Snowmageddon DC map was featured on the Washington Post website.

It’s neat to see Ushahidi deployments like Snowmageddon DC be recycled almost effortlessly to spin off other deployments (even when using older versions of the platform like this one). Indeed, let us know if you’d like to have your own Snowmageddon map for your town or city! They’re a great way to find out where the best sledding and snow ball fights (and cleanup parties) are happening. And the deployments can be used for future snowstorms too. (London, Paris, I’m looking at you). Now, if Santa could just get me that Ushahidi iPhone app so I can be out playing and mapping at the same time (coming soon!).

We’re trying to make sure that the Haiti effort is effective, and are at the same time putting in new structures to manage things we’ve never had to do before. Large groups of volunteers, and the organizational structures that are needed to make that work effectively, are new to us and we’ve learned a great deal from the Fletcher Situation Room in Boston.

Organizing Volunteers

It took A LOT of work to get the Haiti crowdsourcing situation room together. It metamorphosed over the first couple days as there was a growing need for organization and compartmentalization needed for efficiency. The team at the Fletcher Situation Room were the first, and they quickly organized around roles and chose leaders for each area.

Below is their org chart for the 70+ person strong situation room:

Ushahidi - Fletcher situation room volunteer structure

I asked Vanessa Corlazzoli who is the overall Volunteer Coordinator to put it in her own words:

The Ushahidi volunteers are dedicated and extremely capable individuals that continue to pick up new skills every day. They are able to adapt to new circumstances and learn about new technologies quickly. But perhaps most importantly, they are passionate about helping people on the ground and using their talents and time to alleviate crisis.

In just few days, Ushahidi has been able to set up new offices in London, Geneva, New Haven, and Boston. At the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, at Tuft’s University, over 230 volunteers have been trained.

I have learned a lot in the last few days about how to scale up an organization and how to best provide support to a growing number of volunteers. In an environment, where one is constantly making decisions I have learned the importance of communication and working together to achieve our main goals: help Haitians and relief efforts. Another inspiring part of my task is to help integrate the Haitian Diaspora into Ushahidi. These particular volunteers have been crucial in translating SMS messages and are currently working to fill in outstanding street names in Open Street Map. It is a pleasure to work with each and every single volunteer! Without them, Ushahidi would not exist.

List of Fletcher Volunteers as of January 20, 2009*

• Adam Berkowitz
• Althea Middleton-Detzner
• Amy Margolies
• Amy Patanasinth
• Amy Truong
• Anna Schultz
• Annette Grinager
• Barbara Martin
• Beka Feathers
• Carol Waters
• Caroline Andresen
• Caroline Meeks
• Claudia Bucco
• Dan Brutlag
• Dana Binnendijk
• Denise Roz Sewell
• Elsa Palanza
• Engelmann Gregor
• Erin Linsky
• Hana Cervenka
• Helen Ho
• Hilde Berg-Hansen
• Ida Norheim Hagtun
• Jacqui Deelstra
• Jaroslav Valuch
• Jen Ziemke
• Jennifer Catalano
• Jesse Smith
• John Floretta
• Kelsi Stine
• Laura Gordon
• Laura Zusman
• Liz Sullivan
• Luis Marquez
• Marcia Kammitsi
• Maren Christensen
• Minta Madeley
• Nona Lambert
• Ola Ulmo
• Patrick Elliot
• Rebecca Perlmutter
• Sophia Dawkins
• Suzanne Andrews
• Vanessa Corlazzoli
• Yanina Seltzer

* Please note that this list does not include: DC Volunteers, Geneva Volunteers, or Creole/French translators , and overall supporters.

Spearheaded by Karimi Gituma, a Kenyan medical student at Harvard Medical School, VUMA KENYA! Initiative draws together an eclectic mix of brilliant, talented and accomplished young Kenyans, all former graduates of prestigious academic institutions including but not limited to: Kenya High School, Starehe Boys Center, Nairobi School, Alliance Boys High School, St. Mary’s School Nairobi, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University, and Michigan Tech University; all, budding leaders in their own right.

Our Goals

• To lend a voice to the displaced victims and relief workers by telling their stories in their own words.
• To create a collaborative network where relief workers, Kenyans and concerned global citizens can work together to find tangible solutions to this crisis.
• To leverage resources and funding for all disaster relief efforts, particularly those of small grassroots organizations.
• To leverage a platform and build internal capacity resiliency of grassroots organizations at the community level by giving them a similar platform to appeal for donations as larger more established disaster relief organizations.

Our Initiative

VUMA KENYA Initiative intends to raise awareness and mobilize resources in 2 ways:

• Our web-based initiative will serve as a conduit of information and resources to aid the Kenya Red Cross and other domestic grassroots (NGO) organizations.
• Organize and highlight events such as benefit concerts, prayer vigils, fundraisers and other initiatives within the extended Kenyan community, that strive to spread a message of peace, reconciliation, raise awareness or seek solutions to our country’s crisis.

To this end VUMA KENYA! Initiative is organizing a benefit concert for the Kenya Red Cross slated for Saturday February 2nd 2008 at the premier concert location, “THE ROXY”, situated in downtown Boston. Please refer to our events page for more details.

We hope that these efforts will have a ripple effect throughout the entire Kenyan community inspiring us all to actively seek and engage in finding short-term and long-term solutions to the refugee crisis and to rebuilding our country, not only at an individual level but also within our own communities and social networks.

Fellow Kenyan blogger Joseph Karoki, who has been posting a lot of images from the post-election aftermath, will be playing there as well.