In developing countries and crisis zones, the right information can save lives--if it can be gathered and shared quickly. Mobile devices can help, but most low-income communities still rely on basic first-generation phones--not iPhones or PDAs. When roads are damaged, shipping advanced handsets into hard-hit areas can be difficult and time-consuming.
Even when the right technology is available, sharing data between field sites and head offices is also tough: Messaging software and incoming responses are often limited to a single computer in the field.
To address these challenges, Souktel has created alert and survey software that uses basic text messaging to send/receive information between multiple locations. Hosted remotely, the "AidLink" software platform can be accessed locally via SMS on any basic cell phone--enabling any community member to get information, submit data, or receive news. AidLink can also be managed via web and SMS simultaneously, so that NGO staff in head offices and field sites can run campaigns together.
Our solution is simple, and designed so that field workers and community members can manage the software directly:
Aidlink Alerts - Send Messages in 4 Easy Steps:
1) From any mobile phone (or a secure web panel), create SMS “mailing lists” of community member/field staff phone numbers. 2) Segment your phone number “mailing lists” according to specific criteria: location, age, gender, or more. Give each mailing list its own numeric code. 3) On your phone (or online), create an alert message (eg. “Reminder: Training today at 3 pm”). 4) Send SMS alert to thousands of community members at once, or just to specific groups, by entering the codes of the "mailing lists" you'd like to reach.
Aidlink Surveys - Gather Basic Data in 4 Easy Steps
1) On a secure web panel, create your SMS survey: a sequence of short questions that can be sent out via text-message. 2) Send an SMS “alert” (see above) to thousands of registered users—or a small group of people—inviting them to answer the survey questions. 3) Users “text” their answers to the questions, one at a time. 4) Survey results appear directly in a secure online database, for quick analysis and response. Easily exportable to Excel/SAS/SPSS.
Tool Category:
App resides and runs on a server
Is a web-based application/web service
Key Features :
What makes Souktel "AidLink" unique?
It can be managed online or by SMS from a mobile handset--so people in different locations can all use it together. Not tied to a single computer and handset.
It's SMS-based, so it works on any basic phone handset.
It's connected directly to national mobile network gateways, so partners can send thousands of messages instantly without problems. No USB modems required!
It's custom-built to meet specific project needs: We work directly with partners to integrate apps into your website, your project activities, and your community.
It's developed by people in crisis zones, for people in crisis zones: All apps are created in Palestine for use in Gaza, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and other hard-to-access regions.
It's deliberately designed for Arabic-script languages like Standard Arabic, Urdu, Kurdish and Farsi (but all apps work in English script too).
Main Services:
Bulk SMS
Voting, Data Collection, Surveys, and Polling
Mobile Social Network/Peer-to-peer
Information Resources/Information Databases
Display tool in profile:
Yes
Tool Maturity:
Currently deployed
Platforms:
Linux/UNIX
All phones -- SMS
Program/Code Language:
PHP
Other
Organizations Using the Tool:
Red Cross/Red Crescent - West Bank/Gaza (www.palestinercs.org)
UN-OCHA - West Bank/Gaza (www.ochaopt.org)
Mercy Corps - Gaza, Iraq (www.mercycorps.org)
EDC Inc. - Somalia, Sudan (www.edc.org)
Near East Foundation - Morocco (www.nefdev.org)
AED Inc. - West Bank/Gaza (www.aed.org)
CHF International - West Bank/Gaza (www.chfinternational.org)
Relief International - Gaza (www.ri.org)
....plus more than 35 local community-based organizations, NGOs, and universities in countries across the Middle East and East Africa.
In many developing countries, labor markets are in chaos--not because there’s a lack of job opportunities, but because there are no good information networks to help job-seekers and employers find each other: Web access is low, public/private resources are few, and infrastructure is poor. As a result, many skilled workers get trapped in cycles of joblessness and hardship. However, a huge number of people in developing countries have basic cell phone access, even in rural areas. Recognizing this reality, Souktel has created a simple, phone-based JobMatch service--a software application that reduces unemployment and poverty by helping ordinary job-seekers get key job information on their phones.
Our solution is simple: from any phone, job-seekers create SMS "mini-CVs" that include basic data on their skills, location, etc. These are then sent by mobile to our central database--which hundreds of employers search daily, via web or phone. From their side, employers create similar “mini job ads” and post them on the same database—so that job-seekers can search these jobs from their own phones. The database also matches job-seekers/employers who have similar profiles, sending them SMS alerts with each other’s data.
Tool Category:
App resides and runs on a server
Key Features :
SMS-based querying of information databases
SMS-based user profile creation
SMS-based matching of similar user profiles
Main Services:
Bulk SMS
Voting, Data Collection, Surveys, and Polling
Mobile Social Network/Peer-to-peer
Information Resources/Information Databases
Tool Maturity:
Currently deployed
Platforms:
Linux/UNIX
Windows Mobile
All phones -- SMS
Current Version:
2
Program/Code Language:
.NET Compact Framework
PHP
Other
Organizations Using the Tool:
Employers - Middle East:
Ernst and Young
Red Cross/Red Crescent
CARE International
Deloitte
YMCA of East Jerusalem
Education Development Center, Inc.
Institutional/Funding Partners - Middle East
US Agency for International Development
World Bank - Quality Improvement Fund for Higher Education
The guys of ICT4D.at shot some great videos of the two key people at Souktel and at Ushahidi -- Jacob Korenblum and Eirk Hersman -- describing their respective projects. Even though filmed a few months ago, both describe vividly how they are using mobiles in their work. Well worth watching!
Some people are claiming that the conflict in Gaza is a "social war." But so far, social media is used mainly for propaganda and there is a marked absence of voices from people affected by the conflict, and of useful applications of mobile and other social media. As the Israeli bombing of Gaza is continuing and is now in its third day, mobile communication is beginning to make the news but is not playing the dominant role in citizen reporting and aid communications as it has in other conflicts.
A few examples that have not been reported anywhere else: Souktel, an organization in Ramallah that is known for its SMS-job matching service connecting Palestine youth with work, is running a Palestinian "SMS Blood Bank" program for the Red Crescent.
