Three days after the Haiti earthquake MAF had established a centre for communications at the airport. The GATR inflatable satellite system provided an essential, high bandwidth service for numerous agencies.
In Sumatra we provided similar communications centres after the 2004 tsunami. Unlike Haiti, there were no communications of any type in the affected areas, except for expensive satellite phones that people took in. Coordination of relief activities for all agencies was very frustrating in the early days.
One of the biggest hurdles we faced in Sumatra was shipping the large VSAT dish to Sumatra. The dish comes in two sections, each shipped in a large wooden crate.
In Medan, North Sumatra, the sections of the dish had to be removed from the crates in order to fit in the Chinook helicopter that took them to Meulaboh, where it would be installed. Upon departure from Meulaboh, having unloaded the dish, the rotor wash from the Chinook picked up one of the dish sections, flipping it into the air before it crashed to the ground. Miraculously, no damage was done.
Next came the task of pouring concrete and setting steel pipe for the heavy dish to be mounted on.
It was then discovered that a key part of the transmitter was missing and had to be shipped out from the US before the system could be used.
Once set up, it was used by hundreds of other agencies.
Hand luggage
In contrast, after two years of working with GATR technologies, the unique inflatable VSAT antenna was transported to Haiti in two roll-on cases (two of the larger cases in the picture). Wireless networking equipment, VOIP phones, and solar power equipment was transported in the smaller cases. Just a few hours after arrival in Haiti this system was up and running.
Time saves lives
The VSAT sytem is not only valuable for MAF but also for the work of other organisations. For example, four days after setting up the system in Haiti we received an urgent appeal from the UN Disaster Assistance and Coordination (UNDAC) team for use of the communications system, to aid Search and Rescue (SAR) groups. Our system was relocated to the UN base until their equipment was flown in.
Another group to use the GATR was MapAction, for the creation of maps to help coordinate relief efforts. The maps, distributed daily to relief groups, show where SAR teams have cleared buildings, locations of field hospitals, collapsed bridges and obstructed roads. The high-resolution imagery was too large for their VSAT to handle.
GATR Technologies kindly provided the dish and satellite service used by MAF for the Haiti crisis response.