The phrase “humanitarian relief” usually conjures images of aid workers on the ground and the beneficiaries they serve. But as Aleta Moriarty of the World Bank notes, there is one other aspect of humanitarian relief that is often overlooked by the public’s eye.
“There is a whole world of altruism that has emerged which is helping behind the scenes in times of crises,” Moriarty, communications officer at the World Bank’s Pacific department, shares. “Detailed maps are critical to delivering humanitarian relief to the millions of Pakistanis that have been affected by flooding.”
As aid workers flock to Pakistan to assist flood victims, tech-savvy volunteers gathered in Sydney, London, Bangkok, Toronto, and Silicon Valley in the U.S. to add details to a map used by relief agencies to respond to flood victims who send, through SMS, requests for food, shelter, medicine and other items. The map is also used to track damages to infrastructure, homes and similar facilities. These gatherings were dubbed “crisis camps.”
Moriarty says: “During the camp volunteers worked to ensure that towns and up-to-date imagery was added to the map. Other volunteers focused on filling holes in information that were not given when people sms-ed their needs.”
These camps, she adds, produced a large amount of data that relief agencies can use to help bring essential supplies to flood-affected Pakistanis.
