In our project, we will be establishing a network that allows first responders to see where victims are in peril. Victims can connect to our rapidly-deployed network and mark themselves as “safe” or “in danger.” First responders can use this information to aid in search and rescue missions in the wake of a hurricane. It is important to maintain empathy toward the population we’re looking to help. Although these areas may be in desperate need, the locals may feel they’ve been burned before in similar situations. The team considered the events in Haiti in 2010 and 2016. After the Red Cross Intervention in Haiti in 2010, there were concerns that the organization did not allocate its funding properly and that a good portion of the money was essentially wasted as Haitians suffered. The team is adamant that their deliverable be used by local humanitarian efforts wherever possible because who better to help a community than the community itself.
Second, we worried that the technology associated with the project is not accessible and that is may be unfair to poorer citizens. According to the CIA factbook, 40% of the Haitian population was still without a phone in 2012. While the number has undoubtedly risen since then, there are still low-income families that are
A rural Haitian home that may be difficult to reach.
without smartphones that will be compatible with our “are you safe” captive portal. This concern, while valid, is not one that we consider significant enough to alter our concept. Local authorities will still be able to use the deliverable as designed. The problem here must be solved by the humanitarian organization’s execution of rescue efforts. They must cross-reference the number distress calls they get with the overall income of the area of origin. If nearly the same number of distress calls are coming from richer and poorer areas, they can assume that there are likely a good number more of distressed individuals in the poorer section because they are less likely to have access to a smartphone.
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