IT aid for Ghana's flood victims

More news of the sterling work done by telecoms aid agency Telecoms Sans Frontieres. The latest venture from the IT equivalent of International Rescue, involved despatching a crew of telecoms specialists to Ghana last week flowing heavy floods that have affected much of the country.

The report makes for sobering reading:

According to the government’s National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), floods have affected close to 275,000 people in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of the country. Parts of the Western Region have also been affected. At least 20 people have been killed. The United Nations is currently running assessments in the affected areas to confirm the NADMO information and identify the needs of affected civilians.

In coordination with UNDAC, TSF already supervised the installation of a first communication centre in Accra. Monday morning, TSF’s crew arrived in Tamale, focal point for aid coordination in the Northern regions of the country and could deploy one or several additional emergency satellite-based communication centres for all rescue teams involved in disaster relief. Technical assistance will also be provided.

This mission in supported by the Vodafone Group Foundation (VGF), the United Nations Foundation and TSF’s other corporate partners: Inmarsat, France Telecom, Eutelsat, AT&T, Vizada and Cable & Wireless. This is TSF’s seventh emergency mission this year.

TSF is still deployed in Peru, following the devastating earthquake which hit the country on August 15th and is operating in Nicaragua since September 5th to strengthen relief efforts after Hurricane Felix. In Nicaragua, TSF already deployed four communication centres for rescue teams in the RAAN (Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region) and is currently running humanitarian calling operation for affected civilians. These calling operations enable survivors to call their loved-ones to say: "I’m alive".

For more information or to make a donation go to: www.tsfi.org.