from the horizon

For many people, visits to the field represent a chance to meet the beneficiaries of our programs and really get a feel for the difference which we’re making. Unfortunately I’ve chosen the wrong sector for this. Working in supply chain management means that a field trip only involves going to another office, in a remote area. The main difference is that the problems tend to be more complicated, and I’m more powerless to solve them!

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I started off with lofty ambitions to “save the world” by revolutionizing the way NGOs use technology. I have traveled to 3 different countries, worked in 15 different offices for 2 different NGOs, run countless trainings for over 80 participants. But I certainly haven’t revolutionized anything, and on the bad days I worry if I’ve done anything other than rack up Airmiles.

But today, I took some satisfaction is one of the smaller things - teaching 3 of the staff to play Solitaire. Nothing monumental in the grand scheme of things, but rather significant if you’ve never used a computer before. And it’s perhaps the most significant step towards training them to use the Supply Chain Management database I designed.

I have definitely suffered from the blogger’s paradox – when times are interesting, there’s no time to blog. And times have been very interesting, which explains why this post is almost a month late.

It actually all started with this blog of mine, through which I managed to attract the attention of Paul Currion, someone who has been working in the field of humanitarian IT since before the field really existed, and writes a blog on the topic. Through this contact I found myself invited to the Global Symposium +5 ‘Information for Humanitarian Action’, which was being held by the UN in Geneva. (Obviously there aren’t so many computer programmers working in the humanitarian sector.)

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This Wednesday was the day before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. This makes a huge difference in an Islamic area such as Banda Aceh. From the hours of sunrise to sunset, Muslims must abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex. Typically people will wake up around 4am, before the morning prayers, and take a large meal together as a family before sunrise, and then go back to bed. When the sunsets around 6.40pm, people will immediately have a drink (usually a cigarette too), take some small sweets, or sometimes dates, and then perform their evening prayers before having their Puasa Buka (Open Fast) meal with the family.

The atmosphere has totally changed around town during Ramadan.

The pace at work slows down, as people are having to go through the whole day without eating or drinking, plus they are getting less sleep (the mosque will often broadcast readings from their speakers all night, which also effects the amount of sleep I get).

Also, there are no food shops open during the day, which means that I sadly miss my breakfast of rice and coffee Aceh, and my lunch of Gado Gado. I need to be conscious about not eating or drinking in front of people during the day, and even when I do in private, it makes me feel like more of an “infidel” as usual (Which is silly of me, because the locals are actually really tolerant).

Toward the end of the day the streets come alive, with an assortment of stall selling sweets and drinks for people to break their fast with. The traffic is crazy until about 6.30pm, at which point the streets are empty, as everyone has gone indoors, awaiting the siren which indicates that they can end their fast.

I do admire the discipline, faith and tradition which is displayed during Ramadan. I can’t imagine it being the easiest thing to go all day without eating, and especially drinking. I have aspired to experiment with trying to fast myself, but unfortunately with everything else going on (especially work), I just haven’t had the spare energy.

Being the day before Ramadan, the office closed at midday, however being a consultant I only get paid for the days I work, so I was still stuck working in the deserted office (queue tumble weeds). At about 6pm my boss came into my office asking, “Did you feel that?”. I looked up puzzled, and then realized that I probably just missed another earthquake.

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There is some debate between the merits of Web based “Online” databases verse stand alone “Offline” databases for International NGOs. Online databases store all their information on a central server, while Offline databases store all of their information on the computer of the person using the database. I agree that online databases have a number of distinct advantages:

• They allow information to be much more easily shared.
• The information is easier to back up.
• They don’t require any software to be installed in the user’s computer.
• They are much easier to upgrade (Only the software on the server needs to be upgraded).
• There are no conflicts from people editing the same records at different time.

As a colleague of mine pointed out, Online databases are the “Future”. However they also have one very major constraint – they rely on an Internet connection. Considering this constraint, in the developing world they are still “The Future” and not yet “The Present”.

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I’ve been struggling to find time to update my blog in the aftermath of my trip to China, but I’ve finally got a spare moment. This will be the first post of hopefully many.

The main reason/excuse for this trip was to attend the ISCRAM (Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) – China Workshop, where I was presenting my paper in Developing Databases for Disasters in Developing Countries. The workshop was held the in Harbin Engineering University. Unfortunately I suffered from the same communication difficulties at the conference as I found during the rest of my time in China (despite the language of the conference being English). This meant I didn’t have many good conversations with the (majority) Chinese attendants. However this did give me the chance to talk to some of the foreign keynote speakers, which was very interesting and useful.

One person I met was Chamindra de Silva, who works on Sahana, an Open-Source Disaster Management Software system. Although I’ve been aware of this project for some time, it was good to finally met him in person, and have him show me through the software. Although I think that there are a number of usability features which they need to address (the Online vs Offline issue for example), I believe that open source-software is a very good approach in this field, and hope to get involved in the project – I’ve just got to find the time!

Other points of note include the Chinese keynote speakers, who were translated into English. The non-Chinese attendees received the translation from an earpiece via a radio broadcast. Unfortunately during the first half of one of these speeches, the broadcast didn’t work. I found this a slightly amusing example of how we can’t afford to be too over-reliant on technology, let alone during a crisis!

I had some more conversations about what technology is appropriate in emergency response. Nuwan, one of the attendees working for LIRNEasia in Sri Lanka, told a story about a woman in Sri Lanka who just used a whiteboard to coordinate the relief effort to the 2004 Tsunami. I pointed out that a whiteboard is still technology (high tech when compared with stone tablets), and that in emergencies people will tend to just use the technology which they are familiar with.

I also found myself chairing a session on Mathematical Modeling. The presentations discussed predicting financial crisis’s, which was a slight change from my perception of crises as tsunamis and earthquakes. I did point out to the session that the same techniques might be able to be used for predicting complex emergencies too. It was interesting to be the only non-Chinese in the session, yet have the speakers deliver their presentation in English. After all, it was the language of the conference. Never-the-less when it came time for questions a few people did slip back into Chinese.

I’m posting a paper which I prepared for a ISCRAM (Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) Workshop in China which I am going to this week.

ABSTRACT
Databases are an important tool for International Non Government Organizations (INGOs) to use for disaster management. However they are only a component of a larger information system, and must correspond to the useful information which people can collect practically. Determining how a database records information is an important consideration. Flexible data entry allows the user to enter more detailed information and respond to changing circumstances. However fixed options simplify the data entry process and allow information to be analyzed more easily. All stakeholders must be involved to implement a database, and their feedback is vital for the continued improvement of the system. INGO head offices need to support the development of software in field locations, as this is where the context is best understood. If this is done, databases have the potential to empower staff with information.

The ‘Tukul’ where I ran a training in Uganda

Keywords
Databases, disasters, developing countries, LDCs, software development, design requirements, participation.

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The past month has gone too fast, although I’ve prefer it to the previous month where I was stuck in a rut, constantly behind my computer, programming.

A month ago I started the roll out for the warehousing module of the supply chain management database I have been developing. My life went from a monotonous routine of every day behind the computer, to a cross country adventure, working with different people in different locations.

I started in the Warehouse just out of Banda Aceh (surrounded by rice paddy fields), because that was where I was based. The biggest challenge was cataloguing all of the “Gado-Gado”. Gado-Gado is an Indonesian salad, with all sorts of vegetables thrown in, covered in peanut sauce. The storekeeper used the term to refer to all of the random, disused, broken and unknown items in the warehouse, particularly left over from the emergency response to the tsunami. This is a problem I’ve seen in other warehouses. Unless you keep good track of what’s in the warehouse, and who it belongs to, the items will be unutilized and wasted. Hopefully the database I developed can help.

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I would like to take some of the principles of Web 2.0 and apply them to International Aid, to look at how technology can flatten the hierarchical systems, engage people and bring them close together.

First of all I would share my idea of how Aid works (or doesn’t work, as some may argue). I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have some experience on the subject having worked for the Aid Industry in Indonesia, Pakistan and Uganda. I’ve also talked with the people in the industry, and read up on the subject.

I say Aid “Industry” quite deliberately, because it is huge. There are billions of dollars floating around, hundreds of different organizations, all trying to get their cut, and thousands of people who have built careers in the industry. The following diagram is a simplified view of the flow of Aid.

I should emphasize that the majority of Aid, isn’t given directly by people in developed countries, but instead comes from their governments, often giving grants worth millions of dollars.

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I recently had a conversation with an Indonesian friend of mine who is studying Law at a University in Banda Aceh. He complained at the fact that a number of his teachers would only spend about 10 minutes in the lectures, before leaving to go to their other job at the BRR (Badan Rehabilitasis dan Rekonstruksi - the Government Department of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Tsunami relief).

He is a very smart student, and is very keen to get a quality education. However the current situation is impacting on his studies and he is currently looking for scholarships to study abroad (if anyone knows of any, please contact me, and I’ll pass the information on!).

I can understand the teacher’s motivation, as I am sure that they can get much more money working for the Tsunami Relief than they get paid working at the university. However their neglect of the students who they are responsible for educating is disgusting. It is ironic that their work for the BRR is supposed to be to help Aceh. However because they are failing to teach their students at the university, I am sure that their work has a negative impact in the long run.