Haiti Disaster and People, Technology at work snapvoip.blogspot.com
We all have seen the horrors of the Haitian earthquake disaster and also the joys of rescues by various people. This morning I saw an infant being rescued after 6 days under rubble. There were many other people who saw happy endings and many more who encountered sad unbearable endings. As human beings, we all need to see that those children who are now seeking help get sheltered and fed. Personally I have made my contribution and I did it from my heart, without wondering or hesitating. If you have not done so, I urge you to have a second look.
If you wonder where your donations are going Oxfam and American Red Cross are uploading videos of their
work in Haiti, letting you see how exactly the donations work on site.
There are many other organizations that work with public to support Haitians in this hour of need and please make sure that the organization you are donating is a
legitimate one.
On the technology side, people have utilized every little bit of bandwidth and capacity to keep the world alerted to the state of Haiti.
U.S. Department of State and Google created an online People Finder gadget to find missing people in three languages English, French and Creole.;
Google Voice is offering free calls to Haiti for next two weeks. If you do not have an account you can request one at
Google Voice.
Google Maps is also doing wonders by providing information about the area such as before and after images with the help of Geoeye's imagery.
The imagery is available via Google's
earthquake response website.
If you are into maps, Google has made
Haiti Map Maker data publicly available for download for non-commercial use and attribution.
What ever the case, remember there are people suffering. Even the tiniest help will go a long way.
You can find the same information on
Official Google Blog.
Google Public Policy Blog: Staying connected in post-earthquake Haiti