Tech reconnects Peru earthquake victims

by ZDNet Author | August 22, 2007 12:15pm PDT | Image 1 of 5

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Carmen Hernandez's son in Spain: "Mom, where are you calling from? Your voice is trembling, are you sure everything is alright?"

Carmen Hernandez calling from the port of Pisco in Peru: "Don't worry, please keep talking, it's so good to hear your voice. We're lacking everything here but we're alive. When you come back, you won't recognize Pisco."

This extract is from a satellite call made last week using equipment provided by communications charity Telecoms Sans Frontieres. It illustrates what motivates the charity's 13-strong team of mainly French IT and telecom engineers to rush halfway around the world at a few hours' notice to confront the results of disasters, both natural and man-made.

The organization, which was set up in 1998 by former France Telecom employee Jean-Francois Cazenove, may not be involved in direct rescue work or providing health care like its sister organization, Medicins Sans Frontieres, but the services it provides enable other agencies to do their jobs more efficiently.

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