12 January 2008

TEDsters build site to track Kenyan violence

Five people who met at TEDGlobal Africa have joined to build Ushahidi.com, a website that gives Kenyans a way to report incidents of violence in this post-election crisis -- over the web or by SMS. The idea was inspired by blogger Ory Okolloh, who wrote:

For the reconciliation process to occur at the local level, the truth of what happened will first have to come out.

The site offers a map-based way to see where violence is taking place, and collects eyewitness accounts and photographs -- important during this crisis, and crucial in the aftermath.

In a very real way, bloggers have been the media in Kenya. Bloggers Afromusing, Mentalacrobatics and White African worked on Ushahidi.com, after spending the previous weeks reporting on the ground and collecting reports from others. Bookmark Erik Hersman's comprehensive list of blogs, photoblogs and videoblogs covering the crisis.

For those moved to help, Segeni Ng'ethe's shopping site MamaMike's lets you donate directly to the Kenyan Red Cross, without requiring a wire transfer.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)