What are your thoughts on this proposed Open Source Cleanup Gambia Volunteerism Initiative?

Open Source Cleanup Gambia Volunteer Initiative: thought proposal V1

Introduction

The open source idea proposed in this article for review by Gambians and Gambia institutions is to create a back-end database with an API that allows various organizations to create methods to communicate with the API such as a website, app or SMS app.

NEA would partner with cellular networks to offer same network to same network free sms and call credit to people who report pollution activity that they witness, radio DJs who promote clean up gambia messaging, volunteers who clean up dump sites, teachers who give anti pollution training to children at school, police are offered free credit for enforcing NEA rules...

All together a website, API and database can create an organized means of mobilizing organizers and volunteers to clean up Gambia.

The same technology could be used to mobilize volunteers to any type of volunteer event.

Why do we need to clean up Gambia? 

Burning Plastics creates Airborne Carcinogens

Burning plastics creates smoke that increases asthma and creates high levels of dioxins, one of the most carcinogenic chemicals known to man. The lower the fire temperature the more dioxin produced. So smouldering garbage fires are slowly poisoning those breathing the smoke. 

Youtube: Family turns plastics on island beaches into fuel, energy and services.

Protecting the groundwater

EPA sponsored research shows that burying household garbage in the ground poisons groundwater. The groundwater is our most precious resource. More important than all the gold in the world. The burnt remnants of garbage fires are filled with toxic chemicals that get into the groundwater over time as the rains come.

YouTube: A radical plan to end plastic waste | Andrew Forrest

Protecting our babies and children

Plastics are not natural products. They are created using Oil and when they decompose into smaller and smaller pieces under the sun, they can degrade into small chemicals that get into the groundwater over time as the rains come. If pregnant women drink polluted groundwater the chemicals in the water can cause developmental disorders in the developing fetus as well as contaminate breast milk. Kids growing up long term drinking polluted water will continue to negatively affect their development.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plastics+found+in+featus+human

Protecting Leatherback Turtles and our fishery

Leatherback turtles eat huge amounts of jellyfish. One of the only animals to do so. Jelly fish primarily eat larvae fish. So helping turtles helps the fishing industry. Turtles are known to eat plastic bags in the ocean mistaking them for jellyfish. Consumption of plastics would likely overtime cause either premature death or developmental disorders in baby turtles such as from phthalate chemicals in plastics that are known to feminize a male fetus.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plastics+phthalates

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plastics+sea+tutles

Tourists generally don't like any air pollution

Gambia relies heavily on tourism and westerners usually know the health effects associated with burning garbage.

A clean country with always clean air is likely a greater tourist attraction then a country with rarely polluted air.

Using the beach and ocean while the sand and water have plastic and styrofoam pollution isn’t as enjoyable.

#CleanBeachEqualsMoreGDP

Clean up the Gambia initiative: Thought proposal V1 - Media networks work together with NEA, Police and citizens

• NEA Large scale media campaign using cellular network companies sms messages, news, radio programs in local languages.
• Create 5 minute video and audio segments that can be distributed and played on the radio, youtube and TV informing people of the consequences of pollution
• Promotion of a nationwide ban on burning waste/garbage
• NEA would partner with cellular networks to offer same network to same network free sms and call credit to people who report pollution activity that they witness, radio DJs who promote clean up gambia messaging, volunteers who clean up dump sites, teachers who give anti pollution training to children at school, police are offered free credit for enforcing NEA rules....
• Generally police would document a site with pictures and gps coordinates and talk to residents about who is dumping garbage and sensitize those potentially responsible.
• Take photos and names of those who may be involved and share with NEA.
• NEA generally does not fine until repeated offense after a warning.

Volunteer Mobilization API and Website

Concept

Create a system to mobilize volunteers to pollution sites that an organization seeks to clean up. Cellular companies award free same network sms and credit to volunteers for public service that cleans up the nation. The system could be more generic to mobilize volunteers to any activity but we want to focus on Garbage given the potential or illegal dumping sites to pollute the water supply over time and a desire to both clean up the nation and focus an educational message on the negative effects of dumping.

Dedicated weekly programs on Radio and TV 

• Organize Cleanup sites
• Video cleanup
• Discuss Progress
• ...

Funding To Create API

• Funding is likely required to create, maintain and host the API by the entity chosen to implement the system

API

Interfaces V1.0

The following defines in point form a quick technical specification of the API entities and interfaces.

Users

• Administrators
• Tech Implementer Operational Functions Configuration and Setup
• Organizers
• Has the ability to request mobilization of labour such as KMC or NEA
• Responsible for directing volunteers.
• Volunteers
• Those providing the labour in exchange for credit
• Cell Phone Company Representative
• Representative that makes ultimate approval on 
• event and supporter messaging sent over the network
• amount of free credit available per month for a given organization
• Approving supporters
• Supporters
• Entities who give money to support the events such as
• Funding monthly cash prizes for the most volunteer hours for the top 10 volunteers.
• Perhaps equipment, gloves and empty rice bags
• A named stretch of chain-link fencing along water polluted canals to keep plastics out of the water.
• Supported-by-messaging on SMS messages sent to network
• A way of supporting and gaining advertising that as a supporter your business or individual cares about Gambia. Corporate social responsibility…

Administrator

login

• Fields
• email
• password 

Add/Edit/Delete Cell Phone Company

• Cell Phone Company that uses the system such as Gamcel
• Fields
• Name
• Address
• P.O. Box
• Phone number
• Website
• Upload Company Logo

Send Invite to Cell Phone Representative

• Fields
• organization name - dropbox
• organizer email

Table Views Sorted Alphabetically

• Fields
• drop down to choose data type
• Organizers 
• Volunteers 
• Cell phone Companies 
• Events

Cellular company representative

login

• Fields
• email
• password 

Table Views Sorted Alphabetically

• Fields
• drop down to choose data type
• Organizers 
• Volunteers
• Events

Add/Edit/Delete Organization

• Organization that uses the system such as NEA
• Fields
• Name
• Address
• P.O. Box
• Phone number
• Website
• Upload Company Logo

Add/Edit/Delete organizer

• An organizer has the ability to request mobilization of labour such as KMC or NEA
• Fields
• Full Name
• Cell number 1
• Cell number 2
• Email
• NIN
• Photo Upload

Review/edit/accept volunteer events

• The organizer has defined an event. The Cell phone representative must review and approve them and can make adjustments to the text sent over the network or emails
• Fields
• Description
• Location
• Date
• Start time
• End time
• Volunteer Requirement checkboxes
• Bring Shovel
• Bring Water Bottle
• Bring Face Mask or cloth covering
• Bring Work Gloves
• Accept/Reject Button
• Reason for rejection

Review/edit supporter support

• Review event support
• Fields
• review/edit supporter message
• message of thanks to supporter
• Redirect support to another event if already has enough support
• Fields
• drop down list event selection

Supporter

Login

• Fields
• email
• password

Supporter Company Sign Up

• Fields
• Name
• Address
• P.O. Box
• Phone number
• Website
• Upload Company Logo
• Description of Company
• Email

Individual Supporter Sign Up

• Fields
• Name
• Phone number
• Picture
• Profile of Individual
• Email
• NIN

Support Event

• Select an event from a list of upcoming events to support
• Fields
• amount in GMD
• message of support 

Organizer 

Login

• Fields
• email
• password 

Create/Edit an event

• Fields
• Description
• Location 
• Directions to get to event from major intersection
• Number of volunteers desired
• Requirements checkboxes
• Brings shovel
• Brings water bottle
• Brings face mask
• Brings Work Gloves
• Upload images
• before
• during 
• after

Table Views Sorted Alphabetically

• Fields
• drop down to choose data type
• Volunteers
• Events

Volunteer Feedback

• Rank Worker
• Results in more likely to be chosen or less likely
• NIN
• 
  
• Give worker warning by entering their cell phone number and warning description
• Sends the worker a warning and description
• Fire a worker who is undesired by entering their cell phone number.
• This results in the removal of the worker from the program

Volunteer lookup

• cell/NIN to person
• names will be hard

Volunteer

login

• Fields
• email
• password 

Subscription Process

• User enters
• Email
• Full Name
• NIN (National Identification Number)
• Cell Numbers
• password
• upload photo
• Receive confirmation email
• Click on confirmation link

Settings

• Change password
• old password
• new password
• new password

User Profile

• Could have small private profile
• volunteer ranking
• Jobs completed
• Apply to work at an event

Public

Forgot Password

• Fields
• email

Event News Feed

• Front page news listing of events

Event Profiles

• Events upcoming and past
• Statistics

Organization Profiles

• Logo
• Name
• Volunteer operations organized

Cell Phone Companies Profiles

• Logo
• Name
• Amount of support given to organizations/Events supported

Contact us

• email
• text

The API would allows cell phone companies to make SMS versions to enable further interactions with cheap phones should they desire.

SMS Notifications

• Adding an SMS component would impart
• Free advertising for the system and increased user base. 
• Ability to send educational messaging to huge number of people
• Give access to users that don’t have 3G internet or access to internet.
• Essentially we would still have the web based system but it would be integrated with SMS component.
• Send out a registration message to the whole network.
• If you are between 16 and 40 years or older and would like to participate in Help Gambia! Labour for Credit Program please respond to this SMS with the text #YES. For 1 hours of labour you will receive 200 GMD free credit. 
• Those who register get messages of upcoming labour events and to confirm they are coming
• Example Message
• Help Gambia! Garbage left on the ground or burnt eventually can poison the ground water. If you would like to work on Saturday the 25th of July from 7 am to 1:00pm in exchange for 240GMD credit in the Brusubi Area to clean up the nearby Fields filled with garbage and you can bring your own shovel please reply to this SMS with your NIN number #ddddd-dddd-ddd
• The first 150 volunteers or so would get confirmation messages
• You have been selected to work on Saturday the 25th of July from 7 am to 1:00pm in the Brusubi Area. Meet at 7:30am sharp at the Brusubi Turntable in front of NAWEC. Bring a shovel. A water bottle. Gloves. Thank you for your participation.
• An organizer would ask to see a volunteer NIN to verify identities and confirm the volunteers' attendance.

Problem Areas Map as Distributed Ledger

Create a shared and regularly updated distributed ledger consisting of pollution sites, cleanups... in a format and including data that provides offline readers data that define dump site info on a map. The app described below could operate with such a shared distributed ledger format that gets updated when online or meeting using bluetooth... Users could be asked to verify new data when in the general location of pollution; towards implementing data verification and monitoring.

Questions

How would you update this system to improve it?

Is the idea feasible or a dud?

With help and inspiration from interactions and discussion with the following:

Lafi Touray, Almami Taal, Kojo, Inspector Manjang and most recently Alhagie Camera for inspiring a digging up of and dusting off of this idea from it's storage location. As well as Fred Uche, Martha Njie, Abdoulie Jallow, Masireh Kinteh, Jassey Kunda, Jatta Kunda, Konteh Kunda, Amadu Diabarte, Wandi, Mountain, Mohammed and so many more that were committed to the environment and tree planting.