A presentation of a report commissioned by the Knight Foundation on the impact of digital media on relief efforts following the Haiti earthquake.

2. January 12, 2010:
Earthquake in Haiti
LEOGANE GRESSIER
PETIT GOAVE CARREFOUR PORT-AU-PRINCE
40-50% destroyed
15% destroyed 80-90% destroyed 40-50% destroyed
Population: 2,000,000
Population: 134,000 Population 25,000
Population: 254,000 Population: 334,000 500,000 located in 447
1,077 people killed 5,000-10,000 people killed makeshift settlements
HAITI EARTHQUAKE STASTICS
230,000 deaths
200,000 injuries
1,000,000 displacements
2,000,000 in need of food assistance
3,000,000 affected

3. Media Penetration in Haiti
Radio ownership in Haiti is virtually universal:
97 % of respondents own a working radio.
Haiti's 9.6 million people possessed only Almost 10 % of Haitians described
108,000 landlines in 2009 as "Internet users“ –
(142nd in the world per capita) but infrastructure problematic.
compared to 3.6 million cell phones.
Haiti's newspapers have been hampered by
the country's 52 % literacy rate.

4. Media and Communications Ecosystem

5. Satellite Image of Port-au-Prince

6. Map of Port-au-Prince

7. Tufts-Ushahidi and Mission 4636
An ad hoc coalition quickly took shape, anchored by a group of graduate students at
Tufts University in Boston.

8. Ushahidi-Haiti

9. Mission 4636
The coalition of Haitian diaspora, technology volunteers and companies created a
solution to transform crowdsourced data to actionable information.
• Short Code 4636 provided as free
service by Haitian telecom Digicel
• Over 1000 Creole speaking
volunteers translate SMS
messages
• Messages then streamed back to
relief groups in Haiti.
• Two weeks after the earthquake,
Crowdflower took over
management

10. Mission 4636: SMS Messages
SMS to
shortcode
4636
Translation
Geolocation
Categorize
Verification
Mapping
Report

11. Example of an
SMS Emergency Report
The following SMS message was sent by a doctor with the
Tufts/Mission 4636 group to the United States Coast Guard to
follow up with assistance.
[1/24/10 5:17:47 PM]
D. R– S-----: Two persons are trapped under the rubble at the
Caribbean Market. One of them, Regine M-- - here is using this
number: (+1+ 305 --- ---- to call for help.
Coordinates: 18.522547, -72.283544.
[names withheld to protect privacy]

12. Example of an
SMS Message in Creole
The following SMS message was sent in Creole with the
Shortcode 4636 to the Ushahidi platform to follow up with
assistance.
[1/21/10 23:59]
Jodi a fe 4 joumwen pa mange tanprimouingrangoumouinkay
yon mounnansain marc rue louverturenumero 75.
kowodone: 19.10196, -72.69954
[Very rough translation: Today haven’t eaten for 4 days, please in a
basement Saint Marc Rue L’Ouverture #75]

13. Humanitarian Media Response
Local Haitian media helped to connect
international organizations to the
Haitian public.
Humanitarian information engagement
in Haiti was notable for its preparedness,
speed of response and attempts to
integrate into local popular culture.

14. Radio: Signal FM
Radio: Access can be shared easily and Haiti has over 250 commercial
relatively cheaply among many people, and community radio stations.
serves both literate and illiterate
populations.
Signal FM was the only
radio station that stayed
on the air continuously,
broadcasting to an
audience of nearly
3 million throughout the
crisis.

15. Humanitarian Media Initiatives
International organizations supported local humanitarian media
initiatives. They included:
Internews
IMS
AMARC
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
UNESCO
Reporters sans Frontiers
These groups provided facilities for local journalists, cash grants,
and technical equipment and training.

16. ENDK: News You Can Use
On January 21, Internews set up a humanitarian reporting
project to report critical information.
• The show began on 11 stations
• The show reported on:
• Water distribution points
The show began on 11 stations • Status of displaced persons
camps
• Public health advisories
• The program became available
on 27 stations within a few weeks

17. U.S. Marine Corps.
22ND Marine Expeditionary Unit
Craig Clarke, a civilian analyst for U.S. Marine Corps, worked with crisis mapping
platform Ushahidi, to provide support for Marine rescue units on the ground.
Reports from Ushahidi helped Marines:
• Supply water in a displaced persons
camp
• Distribute devices to sanitize drinking
water
• Police areas and ensure barricades
were not blocking aid from reaching
victims

18. Media and Communications Ecosystem