How a simple phone call could provide Haitians with work
One year after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti, two MIT Media Lab students have launched a trial for a free service meant to help Haitians find jobs as part of the country’s reconstruction.Known as Konbit, the automated service aims to boost the Haitian economy by helping non-governmental organizations, such as Partners In Health, find local workers instead of outsourcing labor. Konbit allows unemployed Haitians to call a toll-free number to record their skills and life experiences. Creole speakers then access those messages via phone or Web, and translate and transcribe them into an online database that NGOs can search. Last month, Konbit’s creators, graduate students Greg Elliott and Aaron Zinman, launched the first trial of the service in Port-au-Prince. Designed for 3,000 participants, the trial has received more than 1,300 phone calls to date. Once the recordings from those calls are translated and transcribed by the...