NetHope Announcements

NetHope Provides Aid for Myanmar Cyclone Nargis
Many NetHope member agencies including IFRC, CARE, Save the Children, World Vision, International Rescue Committee, ActionAid and Relief International have been working in Myanmar for several years. NGOs that had a presence in Myanmar before Cyclone Nargis hit in early May are working closely with various UN agencies to speed relief with the permission of the Government. Progress to establish a working telecommunications infrastructure has been very slow but the good news is that relief organizations are now being granted visas and are being given less restricted access to the restricted areas.

• Telecommunications capabilities are limited to HF and VHF with some usage of mobile phones in parts of the country.
• A Humanitarian Information Center has been set up by the UN with generous support from Microsoft Corporation
• NetHope and its members are working closely with the UN’s Emergency Telecom Cluster (ETC) sharing information in support of the relief effort.
• The first wave of BGAN training has taken place in Bangkok with additional classes scheduled

Resources on the emergency response efforts:
NetHope's Donation Portal
www.reliefweb.org
myanmar.humanitarianinfo.org

Image source: © Brian Carlson, World Vision-provided rice bags arrive at a temporary shelter for storm-affected communities.

NetHope Supports Bangladesh Relief Response
James Horton, NetHope representative from Oxfam, travelled to Dhaka, Bangladesh earlier this month to support Network Relief BGAN kit deployment and field staff training. NetHope received donations from Cisco Systems, Inc. the Cisco Foundation, Global Baker & McKenzie Charitable Foundation, and Google.org Fund of Tides Foundation, to assist emergency response in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. Horton consulted with members from Save the Children, Oxfam, Plan International, World Vision (WVI) and ActionAid Bangladesh and was able to provide a full assessment of: IT disaster preparedness in the country; the potential for a NetHope chapter; and further near term actions NetHope can take in the region....

NetHope Engages Members and Donors for Bangladesh Relief
Communities in Bangladesh continue to suffer in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr.  This category 4 storm, with winds in excess of 155 miles per hour, slammed into Bangladesh last Friday with terrifying fury.  CNN reports that the death toll is expected to rise to 15,000; other agencies place it much higher.  CNN also reports over 280,000 families evacuated from homes that are severely damaged or destroyed. The Telegraph is reporting some 7 million lives have been left devastated by the cyclone. Ground based communications infrastructure is completely wiped out in many regions, making damage assessments uncertain, relief aid slow to arrive and the emergency needs uncertain. In the absence of terrestrial infrastructure, NetHope members have an immediate and urgent need for satellite based communication solutions to help curb this unfolding humanitarian crisis...

NetHope and Microsoft Kickoff Pilot Program in Nairobi for ICT Skills Training
The training completely sold out and was a huge success. 88 students from 12 agencies participated. The goal was to both provide much needed ICT Skills Training and to better understand what skills are in demand and how best to deliver the training. For more information, check out Microsoft's Press Release about the program...

The Emergency Capacity Building Project releases their final Report on Information and Technology Requirments
This comprehensive five-part Report is the first in depth examination of information and technology issues for international NGOs in emergency response, the result of a six-month, inter-agency, multi-country assessment. It analyses critical requirements for NGOs in emergency response, providing a snapshot of existing initiatives, examples of good practice and useful reference documents for practitioners...
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