Update, Sunday 21 Feb 2010, Robert Munro

The training of workers at Mirebalais was a success! While a permanent internet connection is still being established at the center, the workers are able to work daylight hours, but not during the slow period overnight. This will change soon, but in the meantime we would still love for you to help out in the evenings!

The evenings are usually a slow time, but even if you just wanted to drop by and say hi to everyone in the chat, then we would love to see you there.

To all who have been helping out so far - thank you! We never could have made it to this point without you, and now we are very happy to be creating jobs where they are needed most.

For updates, check out the mission 4636 website at: http://www.mission4636.org/

The amazing minds at Crowdflower and Samasource have offered to host & assist Mission 4636 (that's you) as we continue to grow in size and impact. While we've loved having our home at 4636.Ushahidi.com, they simply are not able provide the long term resources we need to continue providing aid to Haiti in the coming months.

Luckily, these two amazing organizations (both of whom have a history of work in Haiti, and philosophy of providing jobs to workers in developing countries) have stepped in to help!

Of course, as with all happy changes, you will notice a few differences.

1. We need you to begin by visiting http://www.samasource.org/contribute/volunteer, filling out some basic information, and receiving a unique Unique User Email. 2. You will then be directed to http://4636.crowdflower.com/label where you will find our BEAUTIFUL new SMS Form. Don't worry, most of the fields will look familiar to our return users, and instructions will be available just in case you get confused. 3. You'll need to update your bookmarks with the second link because we can't wait to have you back again!

Ps: Don't worry - we get to keep the chat room! http://4636.ushahidi.com/chat.php

How “Mission 4636” Works

In the wake of the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti a free phone number (4636) was established to meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people through SMS messaging. People on the ground can now text their requests for medical care, food, water, and shelter from any Digicel / Comcel device and receive aid.

Through the “Mission 4636” service, the SMS request data is collected and accessed by thousands of volunteers (that’s you!) at http://4636.crowdflower.com/label. Volunteers enter English translations of Creole and French messages into our unique online form which sorts the information by need and priority, and distributes it to a variety of NGOs including Ushahidi Inc., Person Finder, InSTEDD, & the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

We're so glad you've decided to join our mission! Your first question is probably “where do I start?” To begin, you'll need to head to http://www.samasource.org/contribute/volunteer to obtain your own User Email, which will allow us to identify all the amazing work you personally have done. You will then be directed to a link (http://4636.crowdflower.com/label) where you will sign in, and begin saving lives!

The SMS Form:

1) Messages currently waiting to be translated into English will appear in brackets at the top of your screen, typically written in either French or Creole.

If no messages appear, the screen will say “This task is now complete!” Please check back with us soon, or hit the “refresh” button on your browser. The queue never stays empty for long!

If the message at is NOT an emergency or related to the situation on the ground - such as an injury / security report or a request for food, water, or shelter - skip translation and click the 'Submit Task' button at the top - we won't delete it, but translation it is not a priority. If in doubt, please do translate.

If the message is a repeat of one you have seen before, just hit the 'Submit Task' button - we will take care of it our end.

If the message is not about an emergency, food, shelter, aid, water or security, then click 'Does the SMS provide enough information'. If in doubt, then do translate.

2) Add the name of the person the text is about (if present) into the First & Last Name fields.

3) Select the appropriate “Status” & “Catagory / Aid Request” from the drop-down menus provided. Note: An injury or illness should always take precedence over requests for supplies. If multiple catagories apply, please select the most urgent need.

4) Translate the message into English to the best of your ability. If you are unsure of a translation, or can't figure out a word, do your best, and make a note in the section below.

5) “Reporter Name” is the name of the person providing the report (NOT the translator). Often this is the same information you provided in the first two fields. If so, simply copy & paste.

6) Add the longitude and latitude by zooming in on the map provided, and clicking the address / landmark provided by the sender. Remember, the farther in you zoom, the more accurate your location, & the quicker crews can reach those in need!

If you are having trouble finding the exact address, use http://hypercube.telascience.org/haiti/

For commonly submitted landmarks and their latitude / longitudes click: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvF_12pc7fQCdHhnVkZPWEpjUlhYNTZsYkFIbzM1eUE&hl=en

Try also: http://www.geody.com/geolook.php?world=terra&map=col&ms=3&stx=463&sty=255&cs=?145,151

And to compare maps: http://tools.geofabrik.de/mc/?​lon=-72.35265&lat=18.52159&zoom=1​5

7) Add the full address, if provided.

8) Click 'Submit Task' - the record will be saved and forwarded to the appropriate organizations - thank you!

9) A new message will appear (if there are more) - back to step 1!

Creole Assistance:

  http://www.haitisurf.com/dictionary.shtml

  http://www.freelang.net/online/haitian_creole.php?lg=gb

Access our new Volunteer Chat at http://4636.ushahidi.com/chat.php

Want to see how many messages are in the queue? http://4636.crowdflower.com/status

(we will embedd this information later)

There, you're find dozens of others who can help you translate a tricky message, or pinpoint an exact location. We're also a lot of fun, promise!

We do ask that you follow a few simple rules once inside:

1) Pick a username! It's not required, but it lets us know who to thank for all the hard work.

   (On the right, you'll see a field called "Online Users", below it is the option "Change Username.")

2) Keep conversations appropriate for all age levels. Play well with others. Hear someone mention a new dictionary / program they created to help? Email the details to francesca.garrett@yahoo.com, and we'll get that resource out to everyone.

Can't get enough of us? Have more ideas you want to share? Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=263146784203

FAQs

Where do the SMS messages go after translation?

From launch, the messages were immediately sent to InSTEDD working with ICRC (The Red Cross) on the ground. More recently, we also send the messages to Ushahidi teams around the world who read every translation, do their best to make the coordinates more precise, stitch together fragmented texts, and send on all immediately actionable events to the US Coast Guard (who are one of the major response and relief coordinators).

The teams on the ground have the original sender's number to call (or text because they know this works!) if they need to get more information about the location or situation, or if the best action is to simply update the person with requested information.

The Red Cross and the Coast Guard are also working with many other organizations on the ground to coordinate responses, doing everything they can with the increasing amount of resources available to them.

Every one that can be.

This is from one of the main groups who take your messages after they are translated and work with the people on the ground to coordinate the response:

Dear 4636 volunteers,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you on behalf of the Fletcher Ushahidi team and to reiterate how much of a difference you are making. While feedback is difficult to come by at this point we know that the United Nations, the US Military and other aid organizations are directly acting on the information we are providing to rescue people and distribute aid. Just today we received news that a marine battalion, acting on information through the SMS system, went to assist a remote site, and two Haitians who would have lost life or limb were evacuated to receive urgent health care. We also know that two days ago the World Food Programme delivered food to an informal camp of 2500 people, having yet to receive food or water, in Diquini to a location that we had identified for them. While the people on the ground continue to be quite busy and therefore unable to share many other stories such as these, they sincerely wish us to continue our work so that they can continue to save lives. Without your tireless effort this system would not work and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication to this effort and know that each message translated is bringing those in Haiti a step closer to the aid they need.

Thanks again for everything you're doing,

Denise Sewell on behalf of the entire Ushahidi Fletcher Situation Room Team 27 Jan

If any of these instructions are not clear, please email Rob Munro at rmunro@stanford.edu or Brian Herbet at: brian@ushahidi.com.

    If you wish to add a report (not from the text message) please go to the main website:
    http://haiti.ushahidi.com/reports/submit

Updates:

JAN 18th. The volume of messages has shifted from one every 5 secs, to one every 10 minutes over night. If there are not many texts in the queue then this is good news - it means there are enough volunteers helping us and the texts are being forward immediately - thank you for staying with us.

JAN 20: Your amazing efforts are being noticed http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/01/19/barnett.haiti.coordinating.online.cnn

JAN 21: There are now (as of early yesterday) a group of people at Tuft's Fletcher school dedicated to reading our translations & deciding which reports can be acted on immediately. Thry are also calling / texting the phone numbers of the people sending the messages to get more details if required. As always the SMS messages are also streamed to the Red Cross and other organizations on the ground.

JAN 25: We have had over 1,000 translators assisting us (incredible!), but the need for new volunteers is still huge! Please email / call / twitter anyone you think may be interested. And, if it helps, attach one of the amazing articles about us below!

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=9605365 http://news.discovery.com/tech/ushahidi-citizen-reporting-and-the-haitian-relief-effort.html