Re: [WorldWideHelp] Re: [Fwd: INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKE: HOW YOU CAN HELP?]

[Angelo Embuldeniya]

this just in from the skype contact:

"There are no SkypeIn numbers in Indonesia, Jakarta and Java at this time. What you could do is to get a local telco number re-routed to a SkypeIn number in another country.

You can use forwarding with it, and you can forward calls from a local number to SkypeIn.  You need to set up your local number in Indonesia to redirect to the SkypeIn number."

When i asked whether this redirection work with skypes sms service, he mentioned that:

"Skype SMS is outgoing only. you can't receive SMS in Skype"

However, during KatrinaHelp when we used Connectotel (UK-Based) which is a 3rd-party provider who are operating independent of Skype it worked.

So i guess our options are:

1) using the katrinaHelp account which still has the SMS service set up but needs to be activated,

2) buying a skypein number which costs 10 euros for 3 months or 30 euros for a year (u get extra 3 months for free with the 30 euros subscription plan)

3) buy skypeOut  minutes or get the skype community to donate us some.
Skypeout rates:

To Jakarta - € 0.038/min
To the Rest of Indo:
landlines € 0.086/min
Mobile     € 0.144/min
 

4) We need Enda or someone else from inside Indo to volunteer the use of their local cell/phones and agree to redirect incoming to the skypeIn number

5) we'll need about 5 people to manage the skypeIn number -- who are on different time zones, which means we can also ferry requests to offers of assistance ;)

Outgoing SMS from Skype via Connectotel is free i believe.

What would you guys want to do?

I've cce'ed the WWH group and ShelterFinder lists so that others could prop up suggestions/offers to chip in.

cheers,
angelo.

On 5/31/06, paola....@gmail.com <paola....@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Brill

in the  country where I am now, roaming means it is charged two or three times more expensive, I suppose different roaming agreements

 the good willing volunteers on this list shoould be made aware (especially when calling from their parents homes :-)
that different numbers may have different charge schemes

would be great to have skypeout donated line

sms will probably work only between mobile phones

good to know we have someone in indo on list,

thanks a lot

p

On 5/31/06, Angelo Embuldeniya < angelo.em...@gmail.com> wrote:

some of those numbers are international and they have roaming on which means if u take a call they are charged and not you... something like a toll-free concept :D

We had a donated skype line during katrina.. Im going to get in touch with our skype guys and ask them to activate the line local to indo again.. i think they have metro indo lines.. am not sure....

sms works :) a skype partner in the UK donated us the sms server the pak quake.. i'll try and see what we can do...

We have someone on the list basedin Indo who is now a contact point for helpjogia.net.

more info to follow.
cheers,

angelo

On 5/31/06, paola....@gmail.com < paola....@gmail.com> wrote:

angelo
great stuff


now, we could do with some ngo or soemthing who can make free international phone calls? I dont think me (in my mother house today)  nor wendy from the states can make too many  calls from home efficiently. okay maybe one or two only

someone in indonesia on this list with internet access
who can make the liaison between wendy or whoever needs the data would be helpful I guess

but the first nr you gave seems thailand, and some nrs seem international

maybe we can set up a skype call out with some credit
that we can all chip a few cents into if necessary


PDM

On 5/31/06, Angelo Embuldeniya < angelo.em...@gmail.com> wrote:

get in touch with Simon Gein - as...@tsfi.org, his field line is +6671131907

I think ECHO as well are having gps units though I'm not sure, there's a list of the relief teams on the ground over at the following page on the wiki along with contact info, try and get in touch with them if the numbers are not 0062 or 0081 then they're most probably cell phones on roaming but reachable, the page is currently being updated:

http://quakehelp.asiaquake.org/qh/index.php/Aid_Agencies_and_Donations#International_Relief_Organizations

cheers.

On 5/31/06, Wendy Edwards < mrs...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, I think it would - having a hard time finding GPS data for some
of the hospitals.

On 5/31/06, Angelo Embuldeniya < angelo.em...@gmail.com> wrote:
> TSF has gps units -- would that help?
>
>
> On 5/31/06, Wendy Edwards <mrs...@gmail.com > wrote:
> >
>
> Yeah, I just downloaded some geocoding data related to Indonesia and
> currently have it in MSSQL where I can query it.  I'm happy to share
> everything - the only catch is that there's a *lot* of data and I'm
> trying to find out what's useful.  Currently, I'm hunting for exact
> coordinates of the hospitals Paola posted.
>
> On 5/31/06, paola....@gmail.com < paola....@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Mikel
> >  thanks a lot for useful info
> >  it looks like you know what to do
> >
> >  Wendy in our shelterfinder team (not sure Wendy is on this list) has a
> > related real life  task at hand, she may benefit from your expertise
> >
> >  I am ccing her, she s also on gmail now you can chat perhaps
> >
> >
> >
> > On 5/30/06, Mikel Maron < mikel...@gmail.com > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hello Everyone,
> > >
> > > Collaborative mapping and aggregated geodata could be a useful
> > > coordination tool for this situation. For instance, Kathryn Kramer
> > > collected sources during the Pakistan Earthquake
> > > [
> >
> http://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/earthquake/index.html ]
> > >
> > > A few quick ideas on applications..
> > >
> > > - Pinpoint aid distribution centers
> > > - Towns and villages hit by the earthquake
> > > - Major functioning transport lines between
> > > - Locate aid workers active in the region.
> > > - Aggregate GPS traces to produce detailed road maps (ie OpenStreetMap)
> > > - Collect various sources of imagery and base layers into a single
> > > interactive system.
> > > - Overlay statistics and news reports
> > > - map geotagged photos from flickr
> > >
> > > Besides the excellent UNOSAT produced maps, I've started collecting
> > > other map sources on the wiki
> > > [
> >
> http://quakehelp.asiaquake.org/qh/index.php/Relief_Maps#Other_Map_Sources ]
> > >
> > > I'm interested in quickly building systems to support collaborative
> > > mapping. Anyone with thoughts on how to most effectively structure
> > > these tools for real usage? Good data sources? Contact with people on
> > > the ground with GPS units?
> > >
> > > Mikel
> >
> >
> >
>
>

--

Paola Di Maio
Systems Analyst
www.content-wire.com

--
Paola Di Maio
Systems Analyst
www.content-wire.com

[paola....@gmail.com]

Thanks a lot Angelo for all the research and info

My guess is that our efforts should be demand driven, at this stage we do not know how many calls we need to make,if any,  over the next 48 hours or so (do you? does anyone?)

that means,  the task holder in question (wendy in this case) should suggest what options would fit them best
to satisfy their communication needs

The most efficient option at this stage to me seems that wendy asks the person in indonesia on this list via email whatever info she needs, and the local person can make a local phone call at a local cost, and report back via the info they find via  internet/list the data (mimimum cost)

however, it is very usefu to have all the info at hand in case the need for phone call scales up

My understanding is that Enda is indonesian but is based in Bangkok (thats where I met him last time)

I think we should always privilege the free options, and if thre is a documented need for a necessaryand paid service
i am sure the costs can be covered

btw, i put 10 dollars of credit on shelterfinder skype handle during Katrina but cant remember the password and I am unable to recover it (doesnt come to me) - risks of distributed management I guess

maybe we could ask the skype team to help us recover our new password for our shelterfinder skype name, there is 9.98 cents credit on it ,happy to make it available to anyone who has to make a phone call for this project

lemme know

pdm

[Angelo Embuldeniya]

i think we have a few dollars remaining on katrinahelp as well like you the password is somewhere... it can be rest by clicking on forgot password via the skype client.

cheers,
angelo.

PS: Enda, are you in touch with the help jogia team>? could they possibly volunteer to be make calls?

On 5/31/06, paola....@gmail.com <paola....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Angelo Embuldeniya]

let's pose the question again:

why do we need a phone line?

>Mikel/Wendy suggested they need coordinates off gps units.
>We can ferry requests via sms from people to offers of assistance
>have a line open to report aftershocks/quakes/urgent info


does that sound feasible?

cheers,
angelo.

On 5/31/06, Nancy Bohrer <nancy....@gmail.com > wrote:

There are a lot of NGO's on the ground. Do we really need to run a phone line? I don't think we currently have the people.

On 5/31/06, Angelo Embuldeniya < angelo.em...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
Thanks,

Nancy Bohrer
nancy.bohrer on Google talk

[paola....@gmail.com]

Angelo
funny enough my skype handle does not seem to match any of my email addressses (the password reminder  says the address you are giving does not correspond the address on racord) I have tried them all  - but I shared the coordinates witha  few people at the time, so should anyone have a memory of that on record, who might have changed the address on recond please say

a funny alternate address also appeared on shelterfinder gmail, I do not even know who it might have belonged to, and the people who are on record  as being the password holders do not have any idea who that secondary email belonged to either. Mysteries of distributed management

to answer Nancy, no I dont think it looks necessary at the moment a phone line, but could be handy and if we have some idle resources lying around, then maybe we can refocus them , and  for our workgroup tasks, could be useful

p

On 5/31/06, Angelo Embuldeniya <angelo.em...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Per100...@126.com]

You can try EnergyKey
This may be help you.
http://www30.webSamba.com/SmartStudio
I always use EnergyKey, it helps me so much in my work.

[paola....@gmail.com]

Hay Paul
very good question, I am glad you are bringing this up

I do not know where everyone else stands, but let's start with the simple let's create information perspective. I am an information professional, and information systems engineer
so that's what I do.

For example, do you, or anyone else,  know what is the situation out there at the moment, in terms of who is where  (displaced, ngos, volunteeers), and who needs what?  (probably not exactly as it is changing all the time)

But we have the tools to pinpoint that to some degree of precision

Unless  information flow is set up  and constantly updated, the picture will never be complete

What I think we we are doing here is trying to create an open infranstracture
made of

lists
blogs
wikis
maps
tools to keep track of supplies

so that everyone can help to

update the information
structure information
use that information,

I am sure the model looks chaotic, and until we all figure our where we fit we can only watch what others are doing, but i am sure once we understand the motion, its going to be easy to go with the flow and come up with ways of contribting

Assuming, for example, that we can have a list, albeit partial,of shelters where information can be published about who is staying there and what they need,  and which organisation are manning the place already on location who can halp, I think those shelters would be more efficient.  One efficient node can help other nodes to be efficient to.

I think if we create information, that information will be available to anyone who wants to  make their operations more efficient either in relation to aspecific location, or anywhere else

this could hapen in one day, one month, one or more years

but i think it can happen easily

I am sure you'll come up with some ideas on how you can help - I support starting gathering and validating current information from all the sources that you mention would be very helpful
Maybe these sources could in turn benefit from an aggregated and structured view of what they currently have all fragemented

look forward to more of your ideas and input

pdm

On 6/1/06, Paul Currion <pa...@currion.net> wrote:

Can I expand this question: what exactly are we trying to achieve?  The reason that I ask is that I want to help - that's why I joined the group - but I'm not quite sure who all this effort is targeted at.  Who are we expecting to use these services?

It also seems that a lot of work is going into acquiring data from free sources, when it might be better to go through UNOSAT, OCHA or the USG, who tend to source such data and make it available for humanitarian work.  Remote mapping is of limited use to operational agencies, due to the need for ground truthing post-disaster.

I think the swarm approach to issues such as cleaning up spatial data is a perfect fit - it's really a brute force exercise - but only if there's somebody at the other end to pick up on it.  I don't mean to sound negative, but I'd like to contribute - I'm just not sure how?

cheers

Paul C

Angelo Embuldeniya wrote:

let's pose the question again:

why do we need a phone line?

  

Mikel/Wendy suggested they need coordinates off gps units.
We can ferry requests via sms from people to offers of assistance
have a line open to report aftershocks/quakes/urgent info
    

-- 
Paul Currion

UK / CELL: + 44 79 46 82 45 46
UK / LAND: + 44 20 71 93 71 67
MSN / SKYPE / YAHOO / IRC: paulcurrion
Web / 
www.humanitarian.info / www.currion.net

[Wendy Edwards]

I'm also glad we're discussing this. Here's what I've been
wondering:

1) Who are our expected users? Are we working with them to make
sure that what we're doing is what they'll need?
2) We're already working with World Wide Help. Are there other
NGOs/humanitarian agencies that we should try to coordinate
our efforts with?
3) Are there better sources of data available than the ones
we've been using?

Wendy