in indonesian http://aceh.abangadek.com
in english here: http://aceh.abangadek.com/index.php/EN_HomePage
English-speakers may find some information there that otherwise may only be available in Indonesian language. as per Harry in Susi’s comments
http://www.idepfoundation.org/aceh_aid.html
While Keith and I have been living on i.m. for the last few days, SB Chatterjee who works closely with Groove has been using Groove’s Virtual Office to help out with aid organizations overseas in disaster relief.
Here is his blog post about that.
Groove also placed their system in other organizations and it is enabling geeks all over world to lend their technical expertise to all of those who are doing their incredible response work. We were also made the same offer (thanks!!) but with Aceh Aid mostly being on Macs, and with a current 20-30K dialup line combined with the fact that I wouldn’t want to have them try to set up VPC Mac on their own…makes it (currently) not doable. Possibly when we succeed in getting them more equipment (and we still need help!!) and they get the broadband they have been promised, we may be able to take them up on the offer.
In the meantime, through Robert Scoble’s blog we had an offer from Mission Mode for Susi and all of her volunteers over there that are spread around indonesia. It will enable them to use a service that becomes a command center for all of their sms text messaging. That will be awesome once it is set up.
Sadly, I have recieved a link from SB from Command Post that references a Washington Times article with more reports of unspeakably higher estimates of the loss of life in Aceh and surrounding Indonesia. Unofficial.
Roman Rehak bought himself an Averatec tablet pc and lost it pretty quickly to his 5 year old daughter Mishka. Maybe I can use my tablet to convince him to drop her off here for a few days. Both of his daughters are phenomenal kids. Here is Mishka with her New Year inked greeting.
by the way, I have been posting all of the info about the earthquake/tsunami and disaster response under the category “Asia“.
Plus I just realized I lost about 5 post because I was on my client’s vpn and testing some web services iwth some funky proxy settings. Darn!
http://www.idepfoundation.org/aceh_aid.html
http://www.idepfoundation.org/aceh_aid.html
Susi posted two pictures to her photo album showing buckets all lined up ready to go and another showing the what’s in the buckets.
http://www.idepfoundation.org/aceh_aid.html
Aceh Aid Bucket Brigade is going from Bail to Aceh by way of local boats supplied by the diving and surfing companies there – dive boats and surfing travel boats. They are going from Bali to Aceh and elsewhere this way. That is why they are not getting caught up in the problem of the clog at the airport and where big ships are arriving. I have pasted below some text from an article from Bloomberg.com explaining the transport and delivery problems. Sumatra Surfariis are one of the instrumental companies that is doing this and they are writing about what and how they are doing here. These people are amazing. It’s one thing to sit here and i.m., email and blog, trying to coordinate people. But I am in a comfy chair in a cozy house. I am not surrounded by thousands of people that need help and don’t know where to start first. I am not trying to figure out how to get to thousands more that NEED my help with just so many obstacles in the way. I don’t know what to say about them. It is human nature shining in it’s brightest way.
(image from www.tourismindonedia.com – squiggly red lines are mine)
About 80,000 people were killed in Aceh on the north of Sumatra island, more than double the deaths of all other affected 10 nations combined. A two-lane road links the provincial capital Banda Aceh with the region’s only working airport in Medan.
“Aid is piled up at Aceh airport and in Medan,” Rizal said today. “The problem is not enough people to carry them and not enough vehicles. Bodies are everywhere. People are traumatized. The air they breathe is filled with mud. We can’t treat them if they are starving.”
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Banda Aceh today, urging rescue workers to step up their efforts. “Quickly channel this aid,” he said. “Do your job. We must save each one out there.”
Relief workers in the country are facing difficulties reaching survivors in remote areas.
If you are looking for some way to help out with the Tsunami disaster that will have direct impact, Keith Pleas and I are working very closely with Aceh Aid that is HQ’d in Bali with a lot of people in the field in Aceh. They are able to get supplies into Aceh immediately in reponse to money coming their way.
http://www.idepfoundation.org/aceh_aid.html
http://www.redcross.org
http://www.redcross.org