The BangonPH Story
It was in the last quarter of the year 2014 when calamities struck one after the other, first was the earthquake that devastated Bohol, and then a month later, the Philippines was hit by super typhoon Yolanda (International name “Haiyan”). The said storm was one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. It stole thousands of lives,destroyed many towns and cities and devastated the lives of all those in its wake.
The BangonPH Story
We were fine in a sense that a few of us went to check on our office the day after Yolanda passed.and more fortunately, we still had internet to keep us going with our normal to do’s.
The internet, specifically our social media feeds were at its worst and best times. There were no usual cat videos, filtered snapshots, no global whining to the usual mundane issues. Every scroll was us having to witness the devastation the calamity had brought.
Online activism was at its best. The social networking sites became an instant virtual bulletin board for the tragedy — the latest updates, photos and videos of the tragic incident, the rising statistics of casualties, the search for missing persons, the status of the typhoon and more. Most of which were too devastating to linger on longer
We saw how relief aid was continuously given from different countries, private entities and personal donations, information on relief centers, donations, relief operations and call for volunteers and every bit of information on the calamity was sprawling from everywhere; with this flood of information, we can’t help but wonder if things were going anywhere — or if they were going where they should be going.
The Call to Act
Relief operations were chaotic, coordination was out of hand. But it made us see how fragile our economy is, and how strong our spirits are.
For the first few periods of the aftermath, relief aid was not going anywhere other than the major places that have become the center of media attention such as Leyte and nearby areas. We needed to see to it that there would be an equal distribution of relief goods nationwide.
We felt that we really needed to do something about the inequitable distribution of aid that we saw happening. We knew of many places that needed as much help as well, but weren’t getting any attention and relief.
It was a time where everyone and anyone wanted to help in any way they could. With that, our ethos came into play — Love. Change. Hack.
We started to create an information database from scratch — somehow like a mother site for all Yolanda relief news and information that aims to provide a close estimate status on places that have been affected and if these places have received relief or not.
We were able to finish and launch the BangonPH site in less than 24 hours.
We had to manually search and scroll through our social media feeds for information, we had to call people located in different places to check and ask for info that we manually input into the system. We had to post a call for volunteers to do such task too.
And in less than just 24hours after launching BangonPH, we received tons of emails, some seeking for more information and some were kind enough to suggest on what we could do more with the website.
By nailing down the most important points of information for each area in need, site visitors could see which places were still unreached by aid, their immediate needs, and facilities that needed functioning.
Social media and friends were the most powerful tools that we used to get volunteers and information. We took advantage of the situation where everyone was wanting to help, they just needed someone to tell them what to do.
— Nicole Padin, head of Volunteers for BangonPH
We were able to gather up to about 40 volunteers in 2 days. Most of which rounded up everyone else too; they gathered data for the site, numerical inputs, contacting or informing relief centers of locations that have received few to no relief assistance received.
It was nice to see how decisions were being made through our site and that somehow lives are being saved. People were relying on our data to reach out to places and people that were not reached by the mainstream media.
Although it was tedious, boring and unsexy — in a way that there wasn’t any physical action compared to packing goods and delivering them — but it was impactful. Nothing beats being told how our site was helpful; how, through the information we have rounded up, they were able to reach places and people that have not had a taste of relief ..but were equally struck by disaster.
- Albert Padin, developer of BangonPH
It’s things like these that drive us and has inspired us to continue doing what we do; we want to extract value from the mundane or the ordinary, or to shed light on tragic events. We want to make a difference and we play with our aces that are a passionate team and a knack for technology.
Sometimes superheroes don’t just come in capes, packing goods and actually reaching out in the open, sometimes they simply can come with keyboards, screens, and phone calls. It can start with stashing an idea into a notebook, it can start with an event that sparked an inspiration, or hacking into an already working process to make it more efficient.
It was difficult enough not to care about what the person had for dinner or how one’s cat has been up to in our everyday lives when it comes to social media and all things internet, but it can be a tool to empower a cause that is worth caring about too. You too can help make a difference.
Love. Change. Hack.
A shoutout of thanks to the organizations and volunteers who came to lend us their hands, brains and hearts to make BangonPH possible.
P.S. BangonPH is now part of a bigger initiative — Agos. Agos is a collaborative platform that combines top-down government action with bottom up civic engagement to help communities mitigate risks and deal with climate change and natural hazards. The initiative mobilizes different sectors of society and transforms ordinary citizens into movers who are helping build a more resilient nation.
Agos Portal: http://agos.rappler.com
SymphFolio on Agos here
