Fighting disaster... FLOSS style

Chamindra de Silva informs that Sahana phase I is currently being deployed in Pakistan together with the support of NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) of Pakistan, IBM Crisis Response Team and IBM Pakistan. NADRA has a comprehensive people database as they build and maintain the central system that maintains the registration of people (identity card, passport, etc). In Pakistan, however the system is not web based and under tight security controls. Thus Sahana fills the gap of making the data accessible to the other organizations involved in the relief effort such as the NGOs. Apart from that NADRA does not have the equivalent of the request management system and organization registry which is built into phase 1. This is what the integrated system should look like.

This is the deployment model presented by them, in PDF format.

Chamindra is keeping notes and lessons learned on this deployment at the Reliefsource wiki

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Shahzad Ahmad writes: "Just sharing this news item. The Tsunami fame, [Free/Libre and] Open Source Software product SAHANA is already almost deployed by Chamindra de Silva with support from the IBM crisis response team and NADRA (National Database Registry of Pakistan). PSEB was also extending support to them I remember. The difference here... SAHANA yet has to hit the media while Microsoft is already getting coverage."

Microsoft offers technological assistance in quake-affected areas
Representative hands over monetary assistance to PM and MKRF By Schezee Zaidi, The News, 21/10/2005 http://jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2005-daily/21-10-2005/main/main6.htm

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Irfan Khan says: For updates on the deployment of
Sahana in Pakistan, check recent entries in

Sanjiva Weerawarana's Blog

and

Geek with an attitude (Buddhika Siddhisena's Blog)