During a crisis situation, groups looking to use Ushahidi often need additional support beyond the software itself e.g. paying for hosting, supporting volunteers, SMS costs, etc. To this end, we’re engaging with GlobalGiving to help fund such groups.

What is the Global Giving Open Challenge?

“The Challenge is for participants to generate donations for their projects between September 1, 2010 (0000 hrs, EDT) and September 30, 2010 (2359 hrs, EDT).

Any project that is able to meet the challenge threshold of raising $4,000 from at least 50 separate donors will be invited to stay on at GlobalGiving. These projects will be eligible to continue receiving donations from the general public, private and corporate foundations through GlobalGiving and take advantage of GlobalGiving’s fundraising tools and services. “

Why the Ushahidi Rapid Response Fund is needed

Ushahidi needs a rapid response fund for deployments in response to major crises. The ability of groups (often volunteers) to respond quickly is considerably slowed as a result . While the technology itself is free, funds are needed for the non-tech side for instance, to do media outreach, to disseminate information by SMS, to set up a free short-code, to pay for a hosted server, and provide a space and some food for volunteers to work.

Examples abound for this type of work, including most recently the work by volunteer groups in Pakistan with the floods, the Mozambique riots and in Russia with the fires. Many times these groups don’t need very much money, it’s free software and volunteers who run it. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t costs that slow their response down though, and our goal is to overcome that challenge.

In a hot-flash crisis, every minute counts. We appreciate your assistance with this fund.

You can also help by spreading the word to people you know who can help (buttons are found here).

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.