Bringing Communications
to Disaster Areas
N2NGO exists to connect families affected by natural disasters with their loved ones. Using satellite communications we bring our mobile units to areas affected by disasters and provide survivors access to our networks to call or send/receive messages.
Our mission is to be the people on the ground alongside the first responders, giving people the gift of connectivity and communication with their families during a crisis.
"Thank you,
gracias, gracias..."
These were words from the daughter of a victim of Hurricane Maria. She was crying throughout most of the call, nearly three weeks after the hurricane had passed and devastated the island. Puerto Rico still had no power, no phones, and barely any access to the outside world. She had not heard anything from her mother, and could not find a way to communicate with her, until N2NGO was able to provide her mother with the tools needed to let her know her situation.
OUR STORY
Carlos Chiossone founded N2NGO after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. While living in NYC, he encountered dozens of people who were desperate to be able to speak to their loved ones. Because of the lack of cellular connectivity and electricity, people on the island were cut off from the rest of the world. Carlos, a licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operator, went to the roof of his NYC apartment building and was able to hear a KP4 station from Aguadillas, Puerto Rico. He began receiving messages from PR to pass to their families on the mainland. Carlos was able to connect 424 families in 10 days.
Introduction to N2NGO
by its founder Carlos Chiossone
Response in the nick of time is what we stride for!
Providing communications for communities in disasters areas is our main mission.
Every dollar is needed for us to be ready at a moments notice. Travel expenses, materials, and personnel living expenses while in the disaster area can get expensive.
Please help us bring our mission to every area affected.
"I still have not been able to tell my niece...
… Our cell phone died 2 days after the storm and as you can see we have no way to charge it. We need to walk 2 hours to get to the closest town as there are no buses running, sometimes we catch a ride by car or horse. Even in town we could not charge or call.”
WHY
Our needs as humans are much more than food and water. Carlos recognized the need for connection and human communication, and saw that it wasn’t being provided by traditional first responder groups. This is why he started N2NGO.
HOW
By partnering with satellite communications companies, we will be able to bring technology to the field, connect to our WiFi network, and allow survivors to login and send and receive text messages or short form emails to and from their friends and family. Our vans will also be equipped with enough power for people to charge their phones while using our network. We will park the van in a given location, where most other NGOs will already be operating to give victims time to connect with loved ones. Later we will drive through streets to also offer communications to those others.
"It was a huge relief that I contacted my family...
… it has been 3 weeks and no way to send a message to my kids in Albany, NY. Thanks to you guys I was able to let my son know I am OK. And now I know I had a grand daughter 3 days ago.”
When a hurricane hits, almost 50% of the people affected can't communicate with their loved ones.
NATURAL DISASTERS ARE UNPREDICTABLE
SAMPLE CASE
Area: South Texas
Case: Hurricane
Main Issues: lack of power, water, flooding
Pre-stage: While monitoring the movement of the hurricane, we will determine where to travel to close enough to wait for it to pass. This way we will be in the immediacy of the event.
Approach: Our van leaves to the affected area. Upon arrival we’ll let other NGOs or FEMA know that we are already on the ground. We start a RECON of the affected areas and recruit locals or others to help us. When RECON is complete and we have a safe route that may be shared with other NGOs or the National Guard, we will begin our work.
As we drive through towns, we will let people know to meet in a central area so that everyone can use the service. In more rural areas, we will stop to let people communicate. Each stop will get at least 10 minutes of communication time, and we estimate that our systems will be able to accommodate 12-24 people at a time depending on bandwidth. We will cap message sizes to preserve capacity, and each person will be given a few minutes to wait for a response. Once the messages are all out, we will move on to the next stop.
Every person using the system will be added to our database to create a log so we can analyze response for future missions. This will also be shared periodically with Red Cross and Salvation Army or any other organization posting welfare messages.
COMPLEXITY
The equipment outline and its used mentioned below will give you a little understanding on the complexity of an operation like this. Hopefully will help you understand how funds donated by you will be used.
DEPLOYMENT
Below, you will find an outline of the equipment we need to make this mission possible, and what the donations will fund.
If you have the ability to donate any of the following items, please send us a note on the contact page. For cash donations, you can donate here.
EACH MAINLAND MOBILE UNIT NEEDS (minimum)
A 4×4 (preferred) sprinter van (Mercedes Benz or Freightliner, Dodge Promaster or Ford Transit)
Satellite Communications (ex: BGAN system) equipment and air time
Wi-Fi Network
Satellite phone
900 Ah of batteries
MREs, LifeStraw or Sawyer Mini Filters among others
A mainland unit will travel through any disaster inside the continental USA. It will be served by 2 people trained in communications and psychological first aid.
EACH OCONUS UNIT NEEDS (minimum)
Crew of 4 (comms, medic, safety/security, interpreter)
Portable Wi-Fi Network
Satellite Communications (ex: BGAN system) equipment and air time
Satellite phone
GPS unit
300 Ah of batteries plus 200W of solar power
Tents, sleeping bags and other camping equipment
MREs, LifeStraw or Sawyer Mini Filters
Partnership with International disaster relief NGO
The OCONUS (Outside of the Continental United States) unit will travel in the first possible way found to either the disaster area or the nearest possible town or city. We will connect with locals to gain access to a translator that also knows the land, if needed.
NEWS & FACTS
Let's turn now to the Bahamas and specifically the northern parts of the Bahamas, where reports are coming in of extensive, unprecedented damage. We have been trying to get through all day with no luck. Phone service is mostly out.
NPR
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Cellphone service providers are working feverishly over the holiday weekend to make sure those affected by Hurricane Dorian maintain service during the storm.
Keeping contact with family and first responders proved challenging during Hurricane Irma in 2017 and again when Hurricane Michael ripped through northwest Florida in 2018. That was the case for the most trusted of carriers like Verizon and AT&T, which says it has increased its network capabilities in a major way over the past two years.
USA Today
There were 4,700,000 Individual Assistance registrations for Harvey, Irma, and Maria by 11/2017
- FEMA
Teams of volunteers with the Houston-based CrowdSource Rescue organization were trying to reach more than 700 Florida residents reported unaccounted for by worried relatives and friends, said Matthew Marchetti, the organization’s co-founder.
Reuters
There were 4,700,000 Individual Assistance registrations for Harvey, Irma, and Maria by 11/2017
- FEMA
Teams of volunteers with the Houston-based CrowdSource Rescue organization were trying to reach more than 700 Florida residents reported unaccounted for by worried relatives and friends, said Matthew Marchetti, the organization’s co-founder.
Reuters
February 2018 American Samoa was hit by Tropical Storm Gita. It is expected that more will come in the near future.
On October 24th 2018, Super Typhoon Yutu a category 5 storm hit the Northern Mariana Islands devastating a large part of it. Communications and power were down for months to come.
"Yutu spent roughly seven hours thrashing the small islands of Saipan and Tinian, the most populous part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, early Thursday morning local time."
- The Washington Post
On October 10th 2018 Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle.
High volumes of missing persons reports are not uncommon in the days following a natural disaster because so many survivors fail to check in with loved ones right away or lack the means to do so because of phone and power outages, authorities said.
- Reuters
CONTACT US
We apologize for the cryptic way but due to spam we had to.
Phone: two-one-two four-7-3 3616
Email: i n f o at n2ngo.org