To whom it may concern: I have been thinking for the past few days after the recent disaster struck my hometown, San Joaquin, Palo, Leyte, Philippines: As an IT professional, what kind of help can I do?
I have worked with several manufacturers and vendors of different networking equipment, which most of them are telco-grade, and most notably are best for large-scale visitor based networks. I have personally seen the capabilities of these networking equipments not just by reading the list of features but also have understood it deeply by working with it. I just realized that the number one problem that I and the rest of the Filipinos around the world who have relatives in the affected areas is facing right now, is to know the status of our loved ones. I cannot sleep, eat, or do whatever activities I normally do everyday because I am worried about my mother <http://is.gd/bq5mNh> and for the rest of my relatives in my hometown and in Barangay Canramos, Tanauan, Leyte, Philippines. For the past few days that I have been monitoring the posts in Facebook, video clips uploaded to YouTube and the broadcast media, I haven't seen a single photo depicting the places that I just mentioned. Now, I am appealing to all the hackers, hobbyists and IT professionals to offer at least their toys (e.g. Droids, Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, etc.) to the affected areas of the super typhoon Haiyan or locally called Yolanda. Your gadgets can make a lot of difference and may even save lives by capturing photos and/or videos and then upload them to the web or to the different social networking sites. This way, the people especially those Filipinos who came from these areas will see the actual situations. I heard that there are certain areas in Tacloban City who have mobile Internet stations that can help us upload these videos and/or photos to the web. If you have solar powered devices that can self sustain, solar powered generators or better yet provide lights at night is also a big help. We cannot just rely on the local media, NGOs and the different government agencies. We can also do our part. To the companies I worked with and even to their competitors, this is about saving lives of those who are directly affected by the recent disaster and the Filipinos around the world who are worried about the situation of their loved ones back home. If you can lend us your network equipment to provide wireless connectivity and communication, it'll be a very big help to us. By the time you read this message, there is a high probability that I am already on my way to my hometown. Since there is no electricity, telephone lines and cellular communications, I may not be contactable in the next couple of days or even weeks. Rest assured that I shall try my best to give you an update when there is an opportunity for me to do so. You may be wondering to where and how are you going to send your gadgets. And probably your next question would be on who will operate it. My honest answer is I don't have an idea yet. For the former question, I tried calling Red Cross but the person who answered my phone call said that they only accept cash donations. For the latter question, as long as it is a plug and play device with simple instructions on how to properly operate it, I don't think it will be hard to look for volunteers on the ground. Here are some links that might help: - #ReliefPH: http://is.gd/L2xL9H - Organizations accepting donations: http://is.gd/XS9zCT - Crisis and Relief Map: http://is.gd/8p3Rjk Thank you very much. In service to humanity, Marvin Pascual [email protected] | +639499157074 http://is.gd/bq5mNh | #Haiyan #YolandaPH
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