Angela Oduor Lungati

"I took over Ushahidi at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Surprisingly, the pandemic was a silver lining because the use of our platform skyrocketed, proving its usefulness. There was a group in Spain, Frena La Curva, who set up the platform to create a kind of mutual aid functionality. They documented that model and shared it with 22 other Latin American and Spanish speaking countries, and it ended up being used. It’s been very helpful because we’ve been able to communicate the value of the platform in this day and age, while showing the challenges in terms of resources. Our messaging was around we are a small team, here are ways you can get involved and help, you can start an instance, you can share some of your feedback. Then we combined that with participating in programmes like Google Summer of Code and Outreachy."

"I mention that because we got over the barrier of entry on the first point. We’ve managed to get the volunteers paid, thankfully, through the support of the Outreachy structure programme, and I’ve actually been able to hire two people who have come out of the community. That’s all well and good. I don’t know what will help us to grow, but it’s a first step."

"I think that’s why we have programmes like the Digital Public Goods Alliance. I really appreciate the wave of awareness among funders to see the value of these tools in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and to understand that there’s some maintenance that’s required, not just on the technical side, but in the communities that are the backbone."

"I think the other part might actually be in reinventing or rethinking our engagement strategies. The way we engage, the way we motivate volunteers now is very different from the way we used to do it."