fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Rapid evidence summary: SMS & mobile interventions
By: Sheree Bennett
Tags: Mobile, Covid 19, Humanitarian, Research

Rapid evidence summary: SMS & mobile interventions

With people physically distancing around the world due to COVID-19, we are exploring mobile interventions in order to continue delivering services for our clients. In our latest rapid evidence summary, we looked at literature on the impact SMS and mobile interventions have on health outcomes. This included delving into systematic reviews and impact evaluations.

Our rapid summary suggests that mobile interventions, particularly via SMS, have mixed effects on a range of clinical outcomes and health behaviors. Most reviews and studies suggest that SMS interventions are more cost-effective than standard, in-person interventions. Yet, all studies mention that stand-alone SMS programming is likely to have smaller effects than more complex, multi-component interventions. We must also take timing, content, framing, frequency and recipient/care-giver characteristics into account when designing such interventions.

While high quality systematic reviews on SMS interventions contain few studies, most of which have been conducted in developed or upper-middle income countries, some impact evaluations have been conducted in relatively more stable developing contexts such as Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. Most of these studies showed a positive impact of SMS programming on outcomes like clinic attendance and adherence to antimalarial treatments, as well as on full immunization and medication rate.

One systematic review looked at seven countries and found that in all attendance rate studies, SMS and mobile phone appointment reminders significantly improved attendance rates. Moreover, SMS reminders were more cost-effective than telephone interventions and were equally efficacious.

In one study in rural Uganda, SMS messages notified households when a doctor and/or vaccinations were available at the local clinic. The messages led to an increase in attendance at the clinic for children six years old or younger, and also resulted in a decrease in the duration and severity of illness for these same children. These effects only occurred among children in households where an adult of the same sex received the SMS from the clinic. This suggests the significance of mother-daughter and father-son relationships in this community.

Another study in Coastal Kenya found that among outpatients screened for acute HIV, appointment reminders through SMS, phone calls, and in-person reminders increased the uptake of repeat HIV tests two to four weeks after the initial test by 40%.

All positive effects in our summary were limited to certain subgroups of the studied populations or resulted from a variation of the SMS intervention (like with an extended message or when SMS was combined with a small financial incentive).

For in-depth information on results and limitations, read the full rapid evidence summary.
Floating Doctors: A Volunteering Spotlight
By: Ralph Byer
Tags: Humanitarian, Volunteering, Philanthropy, Medicine

Floating Doctors is an organization that provides locum tenens medical and humanitarian aid services to poor, remote, underserved, as well as ravaged areas throughout the world. It was established nearly a decade ago, and its first mission involved the deployment of medical volunteers and support staff, along with 20,000 pounds of aid supplies, to assist in the 2010 Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Locum tenens comes from the Latin phrase “to substitute for or hold one’s place.” This practice originated in the U.S. in the 1970s. It pertains to providing temporary medical coverage for areas where regular services are not available, such as when a physician or other professional vacate their post, is on sabbatical or medical leave, or even an unexpected death occurs. These are temporary assignments ranging from a few days to several months if needed.

While locum tenens is often associated with the medical field, there are other professions, such as teaching, secretarial/office staff, clergy, and missionary work, that frequently employ this practice to address staffing shortages due to illness, vacancies, or other circumstances.

The mission of Floating Doctors is to help reduce and ameliorate disease in the developing world as well as promote improvements in health care access and delivery globally. The goals of this mobile aid organization include the following:

-Access to free acute and preventative health care services

-Reducing child, maternal, and overall mortality as well as morbidity rates

-Bolstering access to medical care and specialty services in developing regions

-Promoting improvements in health care practice on a global scale

-Gathering clinical data for program and health landscape surveillance

-Forging alliances with local groups and other humanitarian associations that can allocate resources to help with community development as well as capacity initiatives.

Remote, poverty-stricken, and underserved communities worldwide depend on the existence of organizations such as Floating Doctors for access to basic healthcare services. Essentially, they serve the same function as primary care providers in the United States. Floating Doctors employ various medical professionals, support staff, volunteers, and fellows, all of whom navigate areas that are geographically remote, poverty-stricken, devastated by natural disasters, feature rugged terrain, strife with political unrest, are socially disenfranchised, or lack health knowledge and infrastructure. These barriers serve as significant obstacles to basic healthcare services and community development.
Community Datasets in Google Earth Engine: An experiment
By: Samapriya Roy
Tags: Dataset, Google Earth Engine, Google Earth Outreach, Humanitarian, Tools

This project started with an email message about Facebook’s High-Resolution Settlement Layer generated at a resolution of about 30m for population density. This was part of their open datasets and was distributed under the Creative Commons International License. This dataset was hosted and shared by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University.

CIESIN Columbia University

As the datasets grew larger and as facebook started adding more countries this was also migrated to the Humanitarian Data Exchange as the datasets grew and got constantly updated.

Humanitarian Data Exchange

Putting the pieces together: A to-do list

So things I needed to do visit the Humanitarian Data Exchange website. You can sign up for an account and register your organization to share and access data. The registration also allows you to generate an API key to interact with their API, you can find the information here. I am sure if I spent more time I might have figured out the neater way to use the hdx-python-api. The approach takes into account that inherently the webpage can be scraped for the URL links associated with Facebook as the organization providing this dataset.
UAE’s leadership meets 2019 Special Olympics Games organisers
By: Rashmi Sacher
Tags: Uae, Intellectual Disabilities, Humanitarian, Sports, Special Olympics

The leadership of United Arab Emirates received the Higher Committee and the organisers of the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 on Monday at the Qasr Al Bahr Majlis. The meeting was held under the patronage of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, who praised the organisers for helping in spreading the country’s “humanitarian message” with the world.

He said, “Thank you to all who contributed to achieving the goals of the Olympics and delivering the UAE’s humanitarian message to the world about the importance of solidarity with people of determination and empowering them in their communities, which will enable them to participate and be active.”

As reported by the state news agency, WAM, Mohamed bin Zayed added that the success of the UAE’s hosting of the Special Olympics shows its efforts to empower ‘people of determination’, integrate them into the community, and activate their overall role in the national job market, as they are partners in achieving the country’s development and advancement while asserting that supporting people of determination has become part of the country’s strategic plans.

The Special Olympic World Games, which was held last week in Abu Dhabi, is one of the world’s largest humanitarian sports events, It upholds the cause of people with intellectual disabilities and spreads the message of acceptance and inclusion.

With staggering participation of 7,500 athletes and 3,000 coaches from more than 190 nations competing in the 2019 Special Olympics, it is the largest Games in its 5 decades of history.

The Gulf nation is promoting the cause of intellectual disability by not only hosting the Special Olympics Games but also by introducing Special Olympics inclusivity programme in all public schools. As part of the programme both the children, with and without intellectual disabilities, would participate together in sport and education to build inclusivity at schools.
The Superwomen Behind USAID Food Crisis Responses
By: Usaid Food For Peace
Tags: Usaid, World Humanitarian Day, Humanitarian, Refugees, Women

REBECCA SEMMES

Rebecca is a regional Food for Peace Officer for East Africa and Kenya. She has worked at USAID for 10 years, and has served as a public health volunteer for the Peace Corps (Senegal) and a disaster response volunteer for the American Red Cross.

Food for Peace Officer Rebecca Semmes gives a woman a bowl of nutritious food at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Photo by WFP

What do you love about your job?

I find [humanitarian] work very meaningful, and that helps me to appreciate even the less exciting parts of it. Of course one of the most fun parts is visiting projects and meeting people who are being positively impacted by our work. But I will also admit to secretly loving meetings because I’m surrounded by very knowledgeable, dedicated colleagues, and I gain a lot of knowledge and energy from working with them.

As a field officer, you see firsthand the number of people who need assistance. How do you stay optimistic about your work?

Last year I was visiting refugee camps in Burundi, and we visited a health center where they were treating children with severe acute malnutrition. It was heartbreaking. But there was one mother there who was smiling and holding a healthy baby. We found out that she had recently adopted the baby, and she was clearly overjoyed to have him. This is what motivates me to do my work — that there is such overwhelming need and we can do something about it; but there is also joy to be found in this work, often in unexpected places.
World Humanitarian Day 2019: Tough Questions for Even Tougher Women
By: Usaid Saves Lives
Tags: World Humanitarian Day, Disaster Response, Humanitarian, Women, World

Sonia Walia, Public Health and Nutrition Advisor

Q: You’ve worked at OFDA for 8 years. Why do you continue to do this work?

“I really love my job and the work that I do. I find it very rewarding and it’s something that fulfills not only my professional goals, but my personal goals in that I like to give back. I can do that with this job.”

Q: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

“I would not change anything because the experience that I’ve had made me who I am and I’m very lucky to have had those experiences. Do I wish that I had more of a personal life? Yes. But not to the extent that I would change anything that has happened to me.”

Q: What is the most important piece of advice you share with other young women in the field?

“Humanitarian work is not only a professional choice but also a personal choice. It really affects the way you live your life, because you are deployed so often. For example, I have been deployed five months out of this year. If there are certain things you want, you may not be able to achieve them, and you have to be okay with that. Like whether or not you want a long term committed relationship with children or not —and that is a personal decision — you have to be happy with that decision no matter how you chose.”
Why We do This?
By: Muhammad Raffiq Mohd Khalil
Tags: Technology, Peer To Peer, P2p, Humanitarian, Volunteering

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash

The KitaJaga community is well-known for its peer-to-peer organization and its commitment to achieving food security, stable basic supplies, and provide financial aids. This alleviates the COVID-19 pandemic’s hardship faced by the people. The platform hopes to save lives by allowing individuals who are motivated to help others on their own terms and comfort effectively and aid directly within their communities. We believe in the grassroots movement from the small scale of individuals helping one another, and slowly build communities to tackle bigger issues faced by our society. Our vision is to empower individuals and communities to help one another and build a better future for all of us.

The figures above show the rate of hunger in Malaysia according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia and Global Hunger Index (GHI)

One out of every nine people on the planet still does not have enough to eat. According to the Global Hunger Index, Malaysia was placed 59th. We have a hunger rate of 13.5 percent in 2020, which was deemed to be at a ‘moderate’ level. It is projected to rise by the end of 2021 and reach a ‘serious’ level as a result of the effects of COVID-19, which is now in effect.

Aside from the hunger issue, the current crisis has resulted in high levels of unemployment across the globe as a result of the global economic downturn. Since 2020, the rate of unemployment has risen dramatically, and it is set to continue to rise through the end of 2021. Consequently, most businesses are unable to do business as normal and must lay off part of their employees to alleviate the financial strain placed on the organization. Malaysia, on the other hand, is likewise dealing with the same problem as well. The unemployment rate has risen, and many employees are unable to maintain or feed their families as a result of the lack of a consistent source of income. Because of this, KitaJaga has taken the necessary steps to enable people to assist one another in a peer-to-peer manner by giving nutritional assistance and medicines, as well as establishing a path to peace, stability, and prosperity for those who have survived the recent pandemic, COVID-19.
Nice and daring.
Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Humanitarian, World, Crisis

Nice and daring. I’d like to add the chaos of our political systems to the mix. In particular, we need to take a good look at the most devastating democratic system, district voting, that disenfranchises up to half of the voters at times. It leads to two group-think parties that do not have much real conversation and discussion among themselves.

Capitalism isn’t always bad, but economics is just one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is how we control ourselves. China is a capitalist nation, the USA is a capitalist nation, Sweden is a capitalist nation. Their outcomes differ and some of these nations could give us signs of hope, were it not for the WTO tying them all together.

Basically, we are now competing each other at the most competitive level possible. Competition to the max (with a lot of waste as byproduct) is not good for the environment. Rules and regulations help, but it is particularly diminishing fierce competition that is going to really help, bigly.

We can change the system at home, here in the US. Our constitution already demands the better system put in place for cities and counties, and that is a good spot to start implementing proportional voting. It’s the system that guarantees the strongest connection between voters and representatives, and that helps in having the political conversation we should be having today for our environment.

Our system competes for the sake of competition. The winner gets all, and this means that we will never have the real conversation since many voters are not represented at the table. There’s red and blue, and no other color. Yellow is not an empowered party in the USA. Our conversations do not contain a yellow, green or orange side of the story. The environment is not well-represented at the table. It’s like the 1950s when no bicycle lanes were built, no sidewalks were constructed in our suburban areas, because red and blue both embraced the car culture. In our system, no other color was around to object or help create better, more complete outcomes.

Political systems deliver different outcomes. District voting is good for the winners, but not for everyone, not for having a good conversation and not good for the planet.
Mozambique: Portraits Of Resilience Amid Historic Disaster
By: Bright Magazine
Tags: Photo Essay, Climate Change, Humanitarian, Photography, Crisis

On April 25, Cyclone Kenneth made landfall in the southern African country of Mozambique. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the country since modern records began. According to Mozambique’s National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC), “38 people have been killed by Cyclone Kenneth. More than 35,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged.”

Cyclone Kenneth came just as hundreds of thousands of civilians, left homeless and hungry by Cyclone Idai — which turned huge swaths of the country into an inland sea — were starting to put the pieces of their lives together. World Vision estimates that flooding from both cyclones have affected nearly 3 million people and the death toll is said to exceed 843 people.

But many experts believe that the death toll from Cyclone Idai alone is much higher than the official figure since countless missing bodies have never been discovered and are believed to have been washed away, and many of the hardest hit regions remain unreachable.

As victims of the storms are struggling to come to terms with the scale of the tragedy, the biggest fear now is the outbreak of communicable diseases such as cholera. “At least 1,428 people have been infected” with the waterborne disease as government and aid agencies work around the clock to contain the outbreak.

The international community has been slow to react to the unfolding humanitarian disaster in what is one of the poorest countries in the world. So far, aid remains “drastically underfunded, with only about $88 million received of the $390 million needed as of April 9.”

Earlier this month, BRIGHT Magazine dispatched independent documentary photographer Zinyange Auntony to Beira, one of the hardest hit cities, to document how victims of the natural disaster are slowly putting the pieces of their lives together. We spoke with Auntony in Zambia today on his way back to Mozambique to cover cyclone Kenneth.
A beautiful noise
By: Claudia Altorio
Tags: Africa, Mozambique, Emergency Response, Emergency, Humanitarian

“If it were not for the big helicopters bringing food, I don’t know what would become of us. We have lost all our seeds too.” The sadness is engraved on Maria’s face, I fear it will never leave her. The cyclone has stolen her youth as she tells me her worry is for the children as they have no clothes, shoes, food or water. “We were small farmers, but I do not want to be a farmer, I want to leave.”

I say what anyone else would say. I tell her I am sorry for her loss and hope that she does get to fulfill her aspirations. But I also tell her, as a WFP staff member knows with certainty, that the world knows what has happened to her community and we know how to get to them; that we will not stop delivering humanitarian assistance and, long after all the visitors and media will have left, we will stay on and support the recovery effort with the help of our donors and partners on the ground. For the first time in over an hour, Maria smiles. It is a moment of silence — and a most welcome one.
Palantir and the UN’s World Food Programme are partnering for a reported $45 million
By: Privacy International
Tags: United Nations, Data, Humanitarian, Palantir, Silicon Valley

Image source

Palantir and the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) are partnering for a reported $45 million. Palantir, a US-based company that sells data software and has been the centre of numerous scandals.

The World Food Programme provides assistance in food and nutrition to around 92 million people each year. Systems that are produced in agreements such as the one between WFP and Palantir increase risks to the people the they are attempting to help. There are risks to both individuals and whole populations from the gathering and processing of data from humanitarian activities.

• The recipients of WFP aid are in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. The dangers of the misuse of data collected by WFP that is integrated into Palantir’s system can be revealing and the consequences of misuse of this data is high. Privacy International and the International Committee of the Red Cross have documented such risks in a recent publication.

• While the claim is that no personally identified information is sent to Palantir, the types of data that the WFP works with would be very easy to reidentify individuals. There are great risks to communities, for example by tracking population movements.

• In 2017, WFP’s SCOPE beneficiary management system failed an internal audit of its data protection practices.

• Palantir has faced criticism in its role facilitating US immigration authorities’ human rights abuses.

This data is highly sensitive, and it is essential that proper protections are put in place, to limit the data gathered, transferred, and processed. The recipients of WFP aid are already in extremely vulnerable situations; they should not be put at additional risk of harm or exploitation.
‘Busy, busy, busy’
By: Helen Somes
Tags: Unhas, Humanitarian, Aviation, South Sudan

‘Busy, busy, busy’

The dust kicks up as the helicopters move toward the runway. One after another they are airborne, fading into the skies. Still on the ground, a small airplane waits for its passengers to arrive on the flight from Juba in the next few minutes and another helicopter readies for its flight. This is Rumbek, the second busiest hub for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in South Sudan.

The Rumbek hub connects humanitarians to over 20 remote destinations in South Sudan. Photo: WFP/Helen Somes

Seven aircraft are based in Rumbek — four that transport passengers and light humanitarian cargo for UNHAS, two that send WFP food to vulnerable communities for WFP Logistics, and another that sends non-food items on behalf of the Logistics Cluster. From Rumbek, humanitarians can fly to over 20 hard-to-reach destinations. On any given day, more than 100 people and 11 metric tons of cargo arrive, depart or pass through the hub.

In Rumbek, the day begins early, around 06:30 am. The first thing Joaquim, an Aviation Officer from San Antonio, Texas in the U.S., does when he wakes up is look to the sky — are there rain clouds, is it dusty, is there poor visibility? The weather has a big impact on operations and can completely change the plan for the day. After sending a weather report to colleagues, the next step is to check the flight schedule and brief the team on the plan for the day — all before 7:30 in the morning. After that, the team heads to the airport where the first helicopters are getting ready for departure.

By 8:30am, the helicopters carrying non-food items and WFP food are airborne and the team prepares for the arrival of passenger planes from Juba. Planes carrying between 12 and 70 passengers may arrive at one time and so the team quickly organizes arriving passengers, directing connecting passengers to their next plane or helicopter, showing others to the terminal, checking-in passengers for their flights, making sure cargo and bags are put on the correct plane, etc. In the afternoon, the team repeats this process again, welcoming humanitarians from the field and sending them onward to Juba. In the words of David, a Helper from South Sudan, Rumbek is “busy, busy, busy”.
TRUST ME, I AM A HUMANITARIAN
By: Aaleyah Pearce
Tags: Humanitarian, Children, Humanity, Education, Love

When it comes to Trust, it is natural to tread lightly. In plain words, Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth and strength of a person or thing. However, I know trust is something that is not easy to come by. Human to human trust is something that must be developed. It is natural Human instinct to rationalize and evaluate anything that requires trust. As a humanitarian, we deal with trust and all its counterparts on every mission, rescue and trip. I want to share with you my methods of developing trust amongst my team and the many different cultural families we come in contact with.

Soft Approach: Approach is everything! When meeting someone for the first time, who likely does not speak the same language as you, ice breakers can be tough. I have found it to be more effective to communicate with expressions or gestures. Things like smiles and hand waving can be welcoming and warm. Many countries have their own unique way of greeting one another. Here is a list of different ways to say Hello!!

Get to know the culture: As a humanitarian you travel to several places that are different from the United States. Other countries are known to have different ways of life and a different culture overall. It is a great courtesy to do your research on the country you are traveling to. I view it as a courtesy to the people I am there to service. Whichever country you may visit, there is tons of information on the language, heritage, ways of life, and citizens of that country. Briefing yourself on the norms of other countries could establish the Trust sooner.

Support: We must be there for one another as human aid workers! Supporting your fellow aid workers will be the foundation of a trusting work relationship. This method will have a domino effect and create a healthier working environment. As we know the job of a humanitarian is to assist and if we cannot assist our colleague then we cannot assist those in need. Keep in mind that support comes in many different forms.

There is fun in it: Between traveling to new places and meeting new people, trust is something that becomes selective. I have found that ice breakers,which are simple fun games or activities, really help when it comes to getting to know a person. Fun in the workplace can be beneficial for all parties involved! Fun activities were significantly related to learning from others and non-interpersonal sources.

How has trust affected your life as a human loving, humanitarian? I want you to leave this post thinking about the following questions: How have you established trust in the past? What is your personal definition of trust? We work with people from many different backgrounds and lifestyles, we never know how they may feel when it comes to meeting us. Lots of our relationships with needy families are developed very quickly, it is our duty as humanitarians to give it our all! TRUST ME!
Creating a new generation of humanitarian leaders
By: Gemma Snowdon
Tags: Empowerment, Humanitarian, Refugees, Women

The Asian University for Women opened 11 years ago in Chittagong, not too far from Cox’s Bazar. In 2017, hundreds of thousands of refugees started to flee across the border from Myanmar, in need of emergency food, medical care and protection. For many graduates, this crisis was a chance to apply their skills to support some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Many graduates are now working for UN Agencies and NGOs in the refugee camps, where they are motivated to learn and make a difference.

This week WFP welcomed Chancellor Cherie Blair, a renowned international human rights lawyer, campaigner for women’s equality, and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to see the work some of the graduates have been doing in the refugee camps.

“We’ve noticed that many of the women we’ve recruited to work on our response have been graduates from this university,” said Mr Peter Guest, Emergency Coordinator for the WFP Rohingya refugee response.

“They possess immense confidence and knowledge that has been an absolute asset to our work here and made us want to reach out to the university to find out more about what makes these graduates who they are.”
Stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean… on purpose
By: Ministry Of Defence
Tags: Military, Security, Sea, Humanitarian, Navy

Lieutenant Jonathon ‘Pony’ Moore, recently found himself being dumped into the warm Atlantic Ocean as part of a ‘downed pilot’ scenario.

Lt Moore stranded out at sea with HMS Queen Elizabeth in the distance.

Lieutenant Moore was the focus of a ‘downed pilot’ scenario, which aims to test the rescue skills of both HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Commando Helicopter Force during the Westlant 19 deployment. — the aircraft carrier’s deployment to North America.

The duty search-and-rescue aircraft from 845 Naval Air Squadron was scrambled to rescue a downed pilot. Once on the scene, the aircraft was able to use its onboard equipment as well as putting the full sea-search skills of the crew to the test to rescue the survivor.

Aircrew are taught how to escape from the aircraft and surface, along with how to assist with their own extraction.

Lt Moore being saved by 845 Naval Air Squadron.

As the ship prepared to embark UK F-35B Lightning jets for the first time, the ship has also prepared for the worst-case scenario — where it might need to rescue a ‘downed pilot’ or other isolated persons, at sea, recovering them back to the ship.

Life support jackets, single-seat liferafts and a range of rescue beacons were tested.

Testing the communication lines from the beacon back to the ship, aircrew then launched and honed onto the ‘downed pilot’s’ beacon to swoop in and pick him up.
The Crisis in Yemen
Tags: War, Humanitarian, Crisis, Yemen

Rescue.org

Over the past 100 years, humans have killed roughly 200 million other humans in warfare. Over economic, religious and political ideas and access to resources. This does not include the humans murdered by other humans in other forms of violence. This is strictly murder related to organized warfare, 200 million.

If one were to zoom out and observe life on this planet from afar, as an alien civilization might do, one could not come to any other conclusion than assuming that the homo sapiens species is inherently violent, greedy and malevolent. How else does one explain the organized murder of 200 million people, in such a short period of time, over ideas and resources. When the competing ideas can coexist and where there is an abundance of resources for all.

This trait of ours is in plain view in Yemen, where roughly 64 thousand people have been killed since 2011 and where an estimated 24 million people, 80% of the population, are now facing starvation. Where 10 million people are facing famine and dire circumstances and barely clinging at the edge of death. This is an incomprehensible amount of suffering. The bombs continue to drop and the rest of humanity carries on, virtually oblivious.

I’m not sure what else to do other than to write this blog post and to donate when I can. Perhaps the only thing we can do is take ownership of ourselves and our own actions. Hopefully, when I free myself up from the toils of daily living, I’ll be less of a viewer and more of an active participant in helping those who are suffering at the hands of other humans.
NASA’s Space Apps Challenge
By: George Serediuc
Tags: NASA, Hackathons, Humanitarian, UX Design, Product Design

My fellow designers and I are passionate about solving real-world problems. We truly believe that by working together, we can deliver products that could one day save lives. That’s why NASA’s Space Apps Challenge was so exciting!

This project challenged us to find a creative way for people to prepare in case of an emergency. The requirements were to design an accessible platform that would share disaster-related content and would use NASA resources to inform the larger audience about these natural disasters.

66% of the U.S. population lacks adequate plans and supplies for a disaster 50% of the U.S. population is not confident that the government will help them 41% of the U.S. population does not know to what location their children would be evacuated

Our extensive research showed that the lack of a plan in case of natural disasters is a real problem that can be solved by educating people and training them for basic emergency procedures. In response to that, we designed a mobile app that helps you and your community prepare for natural disasters by making sure you have your own emergency plan.

This is how PREPR was born! The app will help you prepare for different types of natural disasters and learn more about standard procedures. You can improve your survival chances by constantly rehearsing the drills. PREPR will also notify you in case of an emergency and walk you through your custom list of priorities.

The team designed an integration roadmap with a larger network in mind. Emergency drills could be pushed by local authorities, or even at a national level, to measure large group statistics. Evacuation procedures could be manually triggered to simulate a real-life scenario in case of natural disasters. You could then run drills specific to your needs or surroundings, measure your response time and compare your results with friends or family.
Haiti Earthquake: One Decade Later
By: Usaid Saves Lives
Tags: Earthquake, Haiti, Disaster Response, Humanitarian, Search And Rescue

As the first USAR team on site, we had to make a decision. The woman was trapped under a concrete slab and all that debris. Her hands were pinned on a metal sign. She was unable to move. Do we approach the rescue from the top down and remove all the debris on top of her? That could take days. Or do we approach her from the side?

Jinette Sainfort is pulled from the rubble five days after she was buried alive.

She came out singing and thanking members of the USAID DART for rescuing her. Photos credit: USAID/OFDA

We decided on the sideways operation, digging a tunnel over her. This allowed us to trench away from her, and once we got to her level, we were able to slowly remove the debris on top of her and open up the void. We eventually got the hole big enough to where someone could crawl in and help pull her out.

At the same time, all around us, there was a crowd of some 50 people and news reporters gathering. When we pulled her out, she was singing a song in French about God and she was thanking us for the rescue. There’s video of this. The crowd is chanting, “USA! USA!” Cameras were rolling. The crowd was cheering. It was so surreal.

Five days after an earthquake, you don’t see too many survivors. But this rescue was a miracle. Jinette ended up losing a couple of digits on her hand, but we saved her life. This disaster and this uplifting rescue is something you don’t forget.
The Global Impact of Operation Blessing
By: Joel Vergara
Tags: Gfa, Kp Yohannan, Humanitarian, Gospel For Asia, Dr Kp Yohannan

VIRGINIA BEACH — Operation Blessing began in 1978 under the leadership of businessman, Bible teacher, philanthropist, and founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson. Over the years, Operation Blessing has “touched the lives of millions of people in more than 90 countries” and every one of the United States.

Operation Blessing exists to provide strategic relief in regions where people are deprived of food, clean water, medical care. In some cases, these are legacy needs. In others, they may be a result of conflicts or natural disasters.

OB workers and volunteers are continuing to provide comfort and aid to the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and Tropical Storm Imelda in Texas.

Teams assess each situation and provide supplies and assistance based on their needs. Doing so demands a skillful blend of advance preparations and flexibility.

Work in the Bahamas has included installing generators, sanitizing homes to prevent mold, providing safe drinking water, and sending medical personnel door-to-door to assess and address individual health needs.

Workers in Beaumont, Texas, are helping residents remove and replace damaged furniture, carpets, floors, and drywall.

Operation Blessing makes its global impact felt in eight primary areas of operation and ministry, including the aforementioned ministries of disaster relief and medical care.

Click here, to read more about the article from Gospel for Asia Missions Box.

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“Giving hope and developing potentiality of Malnourished Children”
By: Vision Hope International
Tags: Humanitarian

Bahiq Mohammed a 15-month old child who lives in Mahweet with his parents and 3 brothers. His father works hard the entire day to earn their very basic daily needs. Yet, the current crisis in Yemen, impacted Bahiq health directly with the increase of life expenses, while his father earns the same low income. As a result, the father had to limit more the family monthly needs. With time, Bahiq started to lose weight and became weaker. His parents couldn’t really understand what was happening to him. They decided to take him to the Hiwa Health Facility HHF for diagnosis and advise.

Bahiq “After”

It turned out that Bahiq is suffering from a Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM). The health worker explained to the parents the reasons of MAM and the measures taken to prevent it. Each follow-up visit, Bashiq was provided with high impact supplementary food (Plumpy’Sup). HHF is the place to consulte regularly for cases like Bahiq who is cured from MAM after several visits.

Hiwa Health Facility is One of VHI many activities in partnership with WFP. Yet, number of cases like Bahiq is enormous. It is urgently needed to open more health facilities in different regions in order to allow communities to have access in different regions in Yemen. To also guarantee efficiency and success of these facilities, health workers need to be well trained to deal professionally with the cases.

The nutrition project, implemented by Vision Hope international (VHI) and funded by the World Food Program (WFP), has been contributing gradually with the reduction of acute malnutrition in U5 children within Bani Sa’d district since 2017. Also, the project successfully strengthened the capacity of Health Workers to ensure a proper quality of implementation and sustainability of services which resulted in more cured malnourished children.
Hope Village Raises Funds to Help Cyclone Survivors in Africa
By: Darcy Bergren
Tags: Africa, Humanitarian, Volunteering

The founder and president of Bergen Financial Group in Arizona, Darcy Bergen is committed to supporting charitable organizations. Darcy Bergen serves as the treasurer of Bergen’s Mission, an Africa-based nonprofit that partners with Hope for the Nations to provide emergency aid, education, health care, and safe living conditions to individuals and families living in poverty around the world.

Hope Village in Malawi, a project of Hope for the Nations, is working to raise funds for the recovery efforts of communities affected by the cyclone that swept through southeastern Africa in March 2019. Described by the United Nations as the worst disaster to hit Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, the cyclone flooded communities, destroyed thousands of houses and crops, and caused injuries and death.

To date, Hope Village has raised more than $15,000 to provide immediate support to the survivors of the calamity. According to the directors of the project, a shelter has been set up in a small facility, and medication, food, and seeds have been given to nearly 2,000 people and over 300 families who have lost their homes.

The founder and president of Bergen Financial Group in Arizona, Darcy Bergen is committed to supporting charitable organizations. Darcy Bergen serves as the treasurer of Bergen’s Mission, an Africa-based nonprofit that partners with Hope for the Nations to provide emergency aid, education, health care, and safe living conditions to individuals and families living in poverty around the world.

Hope Village in Malawi, a project of Hope for the Nations, is working to raise funds for the recovery efforts of communities affected by the cyclone that swept through southeastern Africa in March 2019. Described by the United Nations as the worst disaster to hit Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, the cyclone flooded communities, destroyed thousands of houses and crops, and caused injuries and death.

To date, Hope Village has raised more than $15,000 to provide immediate support to the survivors of the calamity. According to the directors of the project, a shelter has been set up in a small facility, and medication, food, and seeds have been given to nearly 2,000 people and over 300 families who have lost their homes.
When Humanity Fallen Apart From Society?
By: Nilesh Jaybhaye
Tags: Human Rights, Humanidade, Humanitarian, Humanism, Humanity

When Humanity Fallen Apart From Society?

1 . Humanity has fallen from society as society has forgotten that it is formed by human beings to look after the day to day crises of every human being,

2 . Humanity has fallen from society as Society has forgotten that purpose of the society is to look after issues of its member and not to force its members to start “Rat race” to prove better than other.

3 . Humanity has fallen from society as society has forgotten that goal of the existence of society must be -security, each and every member of it and not categorize own members as more important & less important than each other to make members of society vulnerable and victims of circumstances.

4. Humanity has fallen from society as Society has forgotten that, society must lead every member to its happiness and fulfilment and not to deprivation and despondency.

5. Humanity has fallen from society as, Society has forgotten that the need of society must be to establish order among its member and not to be a reason for inventing chaos, loot, and injustice.

6 . Humanity has fallen from society as society has forgotten that each and every life of its member is important and must be protected from getting lost due to any neglect or excessive use of power

7. Humanity has fallen from society as society has forgotten that it must be the reason for the atonement & redemption of each and every member of it and not to be the reason for dejection and deniability.

Millions in Bengal had died, due to artificial feminine invented by British Prime Minister -Mr. Winston Churchill during World War-2, but not a single authority in the world took notice of it, This is the best example, why humanity is fallen from society today or how humanity is used to fall in any time of human history.

From : Dr. Nilesh Jaybhaye

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Footnotes
BlazeRunner Test Script Recording
By: Fatima Mohamed
Tags: Blazerunner, Android, Software Testing, Quality Assurance, Jmeter

Ensure the following are installed before beginning

Java

Jmeter

Instructions:

Add ‘Thread Group’ to test plan

2. Add a ‘Recording Controller’ to the thread group

3. Add an ‘Http Script Recorder’ to the test plan

4. Configure HTTP Script Recorder

Adjust values accordingly:

— Port: can be set to any unused port. Default is 8888.

— Target Controller: In this case, it’s set to the Recording Controller you added under Thread Group earlier.

Any other option can be changed as needed.

5. Configure NETWORK settings for emulator of choice

For this case, we’ve set up Android Studio emulator using Pixel.

Go to NETWORK settings and edit the configuration for the wifi your emulator is connected to. Edit values accordingly:

Proxy: manual

manual Proxy hostname: your computers IP address

your computers IP address Proxy port: Whatever you set the Port # to in step 4.

Then save.

6. Start the recorder and accept certificate

7. Run through application on emulator

8. Stop recording

9. Save test plan

File > Save Testplan As >save

The above will save testplan yaml file, jmeter log and seed.jmx
The Definitive 227 Item Quality Assurance Checklist to Test Before Launching New Software
By: Andreas Overbeck
Tags: Testing, Quality Assurance, Tech, Hackernoon Top Story, Qa Checklist

Speed vs. Quality

If you ship often and your app is feature-rich you’ll probably need one or more full-time QA engineers to ensure that you continouosly deliver a high quality app.

Move fast and break things. This was Facebook’s original motto. It may be a fine approach for early startups without too much traction but you (and your customers) need stability as you mature.

This is why Facebook changed their motto to Move fast with stable infrastructure since fixing bugs was slowing down development.

Facebook’s original and new motto.

How to help your engineers?

There’s nothing more frustrating for your developers if you say “it doesn’t work” without providing any details.

Provide the following information to make your developers happy. It will of course also speed up the time to fix the observed issue 😉

Record the time the issue happened. Make sure you can reproduce the issue consistently. Describe the exact steps you follow. Open your browser and press F12. Then reproduce the issue. Open the Console and Network tabs and provide the results to the developers. N.B. Clearing the data in the Console and Network before you reproduce the issue is a good idea.

Manual or Automated Testing?

If you build a cross-platform solution you’ll have a huge amount of test combinations. So you need to develop your test strategy wisely. Do the right amount of tests — not too little — but also do not test all combinations.

If you are in QA but doesn’t have any coding experience, it might be worth talking to the engineers since some of the things you think is important to test might be irrelevant.

You can setup automated test tools — or carry out manual test. What’s the best choice depends on the maturity of the product and the size of your company.

Automated test tools sounds great, but you need a really mature product before it makes sense. You need to know that core features, UI and UX is not going to change for a long period. Otherwise, you’d constantly have to update the test script.

Automated test tools also doesn’t spot things which are not right. It can be softer things like UI, spelling, alignment etc. which is important for the user experience.