Hey cc-users,
I've got yet another question to pitch to the group after my experience in
Mozambique on the mPhone deployment with World Vision.
What are some of the strategies that other CC deployments are using for
CHW's recharging their phones? Does that strategy depend on if the CC user
is a volunteer, monetary incentive-ized volunteer, or employee?
In Mozambique, they're using community health volunteers and initially are
going to be reimbursing the cost of electricity charging at "charging
centers" or other places where they'll have to pay for access. This was an
easier to deploy solution in the short term and that was our requirement.
However, they're original idea was solar panels. This wasn't feasible for
deployment because we learned of this idea too late, but they're thinking of
deploying a group of solar panels 1-2 months into the project after
operations have steadied. I'm going to be coming up with recommendations in
my final report and wondering if anyone has some input/guidance.
Anyone want to share experiences using solar panels for recharging phones in
the field for CC deployments? Any lessons learned, suggested operational
procedures or recommendations for site selection? Any model suggestions?
Thanks,
Nick
Nick P. Amland
CommCare Field Fellow
Dimagi, Inc.
Dodoma, Tanzania
Google Voice: 253.642.7790
TZ Mobile: +255 762 740 996
Email: namland@dimagi.com namland08@gmail.com
Hey Nick,
This wasn't for a CC-deployment, but I worked in a community where TBAs
(traditional birth attendants) had mobile phones for emergencies, and they
had a schedule where each of them would charge their phones at the clinic
offer's house on a certain day of the week. At least in Zambia, almost all
the homes of the clinic supervisors had solar power or electricity, or there
was at least one person in the community who had some sort of charging
capability. This strategy was not only free, but it facilitated better
communication and coordination between the clinic and the community-based
TBAs, since they saw each other on a regular basis.
Would something like that work in Moz?
Best,
Nancy
···
On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 1:16 AM, Nick Amland wrote:
Hey cc-users,
I've got yet another question to pitch to the group after my experience in
Mozambique on the mPhone deployment with World Vision.
What are some of the strategies that other CC deployments are using for
CHW's recharging their phones? Does that strategy depend on if the CC user
is a volunteer, monetary incentive-ized volunteer, or employee?
In Mozambique, they're using community health volunteers and initially are
going to be reimbursing the cost of electricity charging at "charging
centers" or other places where they'll have to pay for access. This was an
easier to deploy solution in the short term and that was our requirement.
However, they're original idea was solar panels. This wasn't feasible for
deployment because we learned of this idea too late, but they're thinking of
deploying a group of solar panels 1-2 months into the project after
operations have steadied. I'm going to be coming up with recommendations in
my final report and wondering if anyone has some input/guidance.
Anyone want to share experiences using solar panels for recharging phones
in the field for CC deployments? Any lessons learned, suggested operational
procedures or recommendations for site selection? Any model suggestions?
Thanks,
Nick
Nick P. Amland
CommCare Field Fellow
Dimagi, Inc.
Dodoma, Tanzania
Google Voice: 253.642.7790
TZ Mobile: +255 762 740 996
Email: namland@dimagi.com namland08@gmail.com
Hey,
Thanks for the comment! Interesting. That is very similar to what we do in
Dodoma. We have weekly meetings with the CHVs here in Dodoma for project
coordination reasons, but it also serves as a charging up opportunity for
the CHVs.
In Mozambique, I'm not sure who that "person" would be. As far as I know,
the CHWs don't have a supervisor within the community which they have access
to. That's one of the hard parts of this project is that the CHWs are, to a
certain extent, very isolated from a lot of things, particularly to anyone
formally associated with the project. The World Vision district coordinator
who is a main CHW supervisor doesn't live "close" to them. Distance is a
challenge in this deployment.
We're going to do the cost reimbursement for phone recharging for the first
few months because that was the only thing feasible in the short term.
We'll see how this goes, but WV wants to deploy solar chargers to replace
this process a couple of months into the project.
Thanks!
Nick
Nick P. Amland
CommCare Field Fellow
Dimagi, Inc.
Dodoma, Tanzania
Google Voice: 253.642.7790
TZ Mobile: +255 762 740 996
Email: namland@dimagi.com namland08@gmail.com
···
On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 7:59 AM, Nancy Ringel wrote:
Hey Nick,
This wasn't for a CC-deployment, but I worked in a community where TBAs
(traditional birth attendants) had mobile phones for emergencies, and they
had a schedule where each of them would charge their phones at the clinic
offer's house on a certain day of the week. At least in Zambia, almost all
the homes of the clinic supervisors had solar power or electricity, or there
was at least one person in the community who had some sort of charging
capability. This strategy was not only free, but it facilitated better
communication and coordination between the clinic and the community-based
TBAs, since they saw each other on a regular basis.
Would something like that work in Moz?
Best,
Nancy
On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 1:16 AM, Nick Amland namland@dimagi.com wrote:
Hey cc-users,
I've got yet another question to pitch to the group after my experience in
Mozambique on the mPhone deployment with World Vision.
What are some of the strategies that other CC deployments are using for
CHW's recharging their phones? Does that strategy depend on if the CC user
is a volunteer, monetary incentive-ized volunteer, or employee?
In Mozambique, they're using community health volunteers and initially are
going to be reimbursing the cost of electricity charging at "charging
centers" or other places where they'll have to pay for access. This was an
easier to deploy solution in the short term and that was our requirement.
However, they're original idea was solar panels. This wasn't feasible for
deployment because we learned of this idea too late, but they're thinking of
deploying a group of solar panels 1-2 months into the project after
operations have steadied. I'm going to be coming up with recommendations in
my final report and wondering if anyone has some input/guidance.
Anyone want to share experiences using solar panels for recharging phones
in the field for CC deployments? Any lessons learned, suggested operational
procedures or recommendations for site selection? Any model suggestions?
Thanks,
Nick
Nick P. Amland
CommCare Field Fellow
Dimagi, Inc.
Dodoma, Tanzania
Google Voice: 253.642.7790
TZ Mobile: +255 762 740 996
Email: namland@dimagi.com namland08@gmail.com