The project is a citizen journalism program that aims to teach and empower Yolanda (Haiyan) victims to continually report on their situation. Five months after the typhoon, the victims are out of media limelight but still in dire need of continuous relief, rehabilitation, livelihood program and the much-needed (and never given) financial aid and compensation for their losses. Local and international aid poured in like torrents but the situation of the people remain as bleak. The project aims to conduct social media trainings and put technology in the hands of the people.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Leyte, Eastern Samar, Western Samar
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
The victims of the typhoon in Leyte (Tacloban, Palo, Tanauan and Carigara), Eastern Samar (Mercedesm, Quinapondan and Giporlos) and Western Samar (Basey, Calbiga and Hinabangan) have lost most, if not all their properties. Their general area lost electricity and cellular signal infrastracture and up to now only few have electricity and only a few companies have regular Internet or cellular signal. These victims have been unable to share their own stories and situations from the beginning of the typhoon aftermath. it was always how the media presented them. Now that the limelight is not on them, little have been reported on the disaster that persists in Eastern Visayas. As the world's heart bled for these people, we should all know how they are and where the help we gave went.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Dean Lacandazo https://www.facebook.com/dean.lacandazo?fref=ts
Jebri Gil Sida https://www.facebook.com/jebrigil?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Adelfe Kempis-Bautista https://www.facebook.com/adelfkempbau?fref=ts
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The victims of Haiyan will be trained on Internet and social media use. They will produce microblogs or short updates (via Twitter: daily tweet updates, daily tweetpics and tweets with topical focus, e.g. homes, livelihood, food, etc.). They will be trained to take photographs and take details (who, what, where, when, why and how) so they can inform the rest of the world of their situation. The Twitter accounts will be linked to Facebook, tumblr, Flickr and Instagram and other social networking sites.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
People Surge is a group of victims of typhoon Haiyan. We are the victims of typhoon Yolanda. We intend to work with alternative media groups to help us conduct the trainings, It groups to help us deal with technical issues, and church groups to house our trainings.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
The participants are at least 20 victims of the typhoon in each of the towns: Leyte (Tacloban, Palo, Tanauan and Carigara), Eastern Samar (Mercedes, Quinapondan and Giporlos) and Western Samar (Basey, Calbiga and Hinabangan). There will be around 200 participants to be trained in the project.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The project will make use of cellular phones or tablets and of the 3g or 4g connection to connect to the Internet. Computers and internet connection have been scarce in the remote parts of Leyte, Eastern and Western Samar (except for Tacloban and Palo in Leyte). Facilities and infrastructure for computer and Internet became more remote and harder to access after the typhoon. The best option for now is mobile technology (e.g. smartphone, tablets, etc.).
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The workshops will be held in local parish churches if they are near the area of the participants. Or, most likely, the workshops will be held in the homes or public spaces in the villages where the participants reside. Generators will be used for those without electricity. Wireless Internet will be used.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
We have members of People Surge in all of the communities we mentioned and we have worked with campaigns to amplify the voices of the victims of typhoon Yolanda since January 2014.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
The challenges are the electricity and equipment. We need to test that they will work in the area, because we need people to be updating or reporting their own stories by themselves in the future. We need to make sure that not only the workshops will be launched but also that the people can continue to report.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The project's success may be measured in the way we have brought people into the digital age, how they will be able to use mobile technology, Internet, social media and social netowrking for this purpose and for their personal purposes in the future.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
June – September – trainings and reporting
November – social media event for 1st year of Yolanda
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Materials 100
Travel 200
Facilitators 500
Equipment 500
Workshops 500
reporting 500
Social media event 200
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Publish and share the updates we make
Contact name
Dean Lacandazo
Organization
People Surge
