NEWLY customised software that was originally designed to assist relief efforts in the wake of Cyclone Nargis is now coming on stream.

Myanmar Computer Professionals Association (MCPA) and a local capacity-building organisation, Myanmar Egress, are making the free, open-source, disaster management software “Sahana” more widely available locally, said U Ye Myat Thu, an IT professional involved in the localisation process.

The software is intended for use in relief and rehabilitation efforts, and the localisation will permit data entry in the Myanmar language, he said.

U Ye Myat Thu said a five-member group of Myanmar IT professionals attended a training course – conducted by Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) – in Bangkok from May 20 to 25.

The localisation project is technically supported by MCPA and some of the necessary facilities – such as a server system and some computers – were donated by AIT, he added. “AIT donated some facilities, and plans to donate more once the software is in use in the field,” he said.

The software can be used for the registration of relief organisations, refugee shelter registry with maps, inventory management, volunteer coordination and a missing person registry. Moreover, the software can be used online by connecting with other programs – such as Google Earth – and offline by entry maps and a list of specific location in the disaster-affected region, he added.
“By using the disaster management software, relief organisations should be able to manage the relief and rehabilitation process more effectively,” he said.

He added that a local relief organisation, ‘Nargis Action Group’ was testing the software in its relief efforts, and other NGOs were negotiating to use it.

U Ye Myat Thu said the software would be used by on-call help centres in Nargis-affected areas, which MCPA would open, and by its server system in Yangon. Initially, the software would support relief and rehabilitation work in three towns: Bogale, Pyapon and Yangon.

“Organisations can access the software and browse by using their own log-in name and passwords, so it is secure,” he said, adding that MCPA and Myanmar Egress would provide technical support to users free of charge. The two organisations are negotiating with potential donors for the facilities needed to use the software.

“Users have to subsidise internet connection fees and other charges on their own if their project area has no on-call help centres opened by MCPA,” he said, adding that the two organisations were negotiating with Myanma Post and Telecommunications to set up a website that would allow users to enter their data from any location.

“Sahana” was conceived during the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami and was deployed in many other disasters such as the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, the mudslide disaster in Southern Leyte, Philippines and the Jogjarkata Earthquake in Indonesia in 2006.