As I mentioned in my last post, it would be good for us to have a tool to chronicle the incidents of violence happening around Kenya. That is the basic premise behind a new site that was quickly scratched together by a couple of us this weekend.
Ushahidi.com is a tool for people who witness acts of violence in Kenya in these post-election times. You can report the incident that you have seen, and it will appear on a map-based view for others to see. Ory and Daudi are working with local Kenyan NGO’s to get information and to verify each incident.
What you can do is get the word out about Ushahidi so that it’s utilized to it’s full potential. This especially extends to talking to the people that you know who have seen things in Kenya and getting them to the site as well.
At the beginning of a project like this the technology portion can seem to be the hardest to get off the ground. In the end, it’s just the tool, and the hard work will come from people in the field who are working with NGO’s to keep this information accurate and to chronicle as much of it as they can. If you want to help, get in touch with Daudi or Ory to get started.
When all the dust settles from this in Kenya, don’t be one of the ones saying, “I should have done something”.
[A special thanks goes out to David Kobia of Kobia Interactive for stepping up and shouldering the load and developing this site in just 2 days!]
Get the Word Out!
If you would like to raise awareness of Ushahidi via your blog or website. Feel free to use one of these buttons that I created, or make your own. (You can grab them from the Flickr set too)
The code for the bottom one would be like what you see below, which you can just copy and paste:
<a href="http://www.ushahidi.com"><img src="http://whiteafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/ushahidi_v2c_250px.jpg"
alt="Ushahidi Button v2c 250px" /></a>
January 9, 2008 at 2:06 pm
This is a great initiative. I just spotted it on Kenyan Pundit. Are there any plans to expand this beyond Kenya? It is great how African bloggers have embraced the cause to help end the violence in Kenya, but there are other countries that can benefit from this as well. Can we extend the mashup to those countries?
January 9, 2008 at 4:54 pm
very good initiative. Please include ‘rape’ in the categories of incidents.
January 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Good initiative, we will promote it on http://www.africanews.com:
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_message/9926#m9926
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/14524
January 9, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Hash, the html code isn’t working for me? I’ve added to my blog page with no joy – even after waiting a while….
Will certainly bring to attention to as many as I can about ushahidi. Great job you guys.
January 9, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Jac, thanks for bringing that error in the button code to my attention. I’ve fixed it.
Here is the correct code:
<a href="http://www.ushahidi.com"><img src="http://whiteafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/ushahidi_v2c_250px.jpg"
alt="Ushahidi Button v2c 250px" /></a>
January 10, 2008 at 6:50 am
A great initiative, HASH. Actually getting something concrete and positive done while others just faff around and say how great something like this could be (you can check the urban dictionary for a definition of “faff” if anyone’s not sure what the word means!).
All that’s missing, of course, is the mobile element and challenges of getting location information (it’s unlikely you’ll get this through the operators). Given problems with internet access in some of these areas at the best of times – let alone in a riot – I sense that mobile uploads will be the difference between success and failure for Ushahidi.
Ken
January 10, 2008 at 9:05 am
Hash,
Great job, you don’t just talk the talk..
January 10, 2008 at 9:49 am
Great initiative.
January 10, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Raila’s personal greed and ambitions have sealed his fate.
His hands are covered with the blood of innocent people that you sacrificed to the devil. We know they planned their murderous rampage before the elections. Spirits of dead innocent children are crying out for justice. Starving widows are crying for their husbands. What crime did they commit? Did the chilren steal votes?
Raila Odinga, you will never be president of Kenya.
Never.
January 13, 2008 at 7:16 am
Hash,
I found this initiative creative and interesting – Kenyans on ground trying to do something. They have left their numbers and messages- http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?HelpKenyans
February 13, 2008 at 7:46 am
great site, definitley has my support if from a long way away in Ireland! Well done
March 21, 2008 at 5:27 am
this is a good work ..i need to sent pics to u from kericho…it was sad