Vic's SOS SMS system
Some friends and I were having dinner with Vic Barrazona, who was on vacation from Saudi Arabia sometime in 2002 when he mentioned he had an idea -- of creating a text system that would allow the embassy to keep track of OFWs in the area. He said then this was because during the gulf war it was proven that the embassy did not even know how many OFWs there were in Saudi Arabia and where they were located.
Well, the system got created thanks to Vic and Joesph Espiritu and Bong Ramilo (in Australia) and of course Bobby Soriano at the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD). Unfortunately, it never got government support so during the recent bombing war between Israel and the Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, the lack of government's ability to keep track of the OFWs in the area was again shown up.
If you want to read what I originally wrote about the project, click on this site:
http://www.ofwjournalism.net/previousweb/vol5no6/prevstories5063.php
for the article entitled
Mobile phones not just for sending money, group shows
Some friends and I were having dinner with Vic Barrazona, who was on vacation from Saudi Arabia sometime in 2002 when he mentioned he had an idea -- of creating a text system that would allow the embassy to keep track of OFWs in the area. He said then this was because during the gulf war it was proven that the embassy did not even know how many OFWs there were in Saudi Arabia and where they were located.
Well, the system got created thanks to Vic and Joesph Espiritu and Bong Ramilo (in Australia) and of course Bobby Soriano at the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD). Unfortunately, it never got government support so during the recent bombing war between Israel and the Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, the lack of government's ability to keep track of the OFWs in the area was again shown up.
If you want to read what I originally wrote about the project, click on this site:
http://www.ofwjournalism.net/previousweb/vol5no6/prevstories5063.php
for the article entitled
Mobile phones not just for sending money, group shows
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