Mujeres: Cambia, a micro-enterprise based in rural Ecuador seeks a solution to support our growing social venture. Mujeres: Cambia provides opportunities for low-income women through the sale of products made from recycled materials. Our products are eco-friendly and help to support specific goals that each member has articulated for herself.

We would like to interact with 2 Google Doc worksheets: one accounting ledger and one inventory list using SMS cellphones. Most people who live in our area do not use smart phones or have regular access to the internet. However, most do have access to and are comfortable using SMS texts to communicate. Read more...

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An "around me," but for people to find Peace Corps events and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and in the area.

Peace Corps' best assets are our former Volunteers, or as we call them, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. They have the ability to share their own unique experience and connect with the public on a very personal level. They are not only our best advocates, but also our best recruiters. We encourage our volunteers to share their stories with as many people as possible, but it remains a challenge for the public to find Peace Corps events in their neighborhood or a returned Peace Corps Volunteer in their area to discuss the difficult decision of committing to 27 months of service in a foreign country.

 

The app would connect interested Americans with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in their surrounding area and allow people to find events that are happening around them. It would use GPS and be smart phone based. People would be able to find people to chat with in their area or know when the next Peace Corps event is in their area. Read more...

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A feature-lite calendaring/meet-up app that could operate on a similar basis to Whatsapp would greatly assist resource-poor groups seeking to organize and meet.

Access to communication is one of the largest challenges to development that Swaziland citizens encounter as they try to mobilize and schedule meetings. If a meeting is scheduled but later changed or canceled, the original participants don't know because the organizers lacked funds to notify everyone. When this happens everyone loses precious time and becomes frustrated. A feature-lite calendaring software that could operate on a similar basis to Whatsapp could go a long way for assisting groups seeking to organize and meet. Read more...

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An app to inform people of valuable information ranging from food, deals, to safety and crime when they are close to that area which others have discovered

Often volunteers aren’t too sure of where other volunteers have discovered amazing food items, good deals, or where volunteers or people have been victimized and the information is never well utilized. If there were some way for the information discovered by people who have discovered information on that area to be automatically sent to other people visiting the area, a more well-informed public can access easy discovery. Read more...

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I am developing composting latrines in the Peruvian Andes however the climate is too cold for the composting process to take place.

I am working with the Peruvian National Park Office. They have built composting latrines however they do not work as the human waste cannot actually compost. The climate is too cold for the composting process to take place. I am attempting to develop some sort of composting greenhouse to allow the material to reach an adequate temperature to A) compost and B) eliminate all pathogens found within the waste. Would this work? Read more...

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Develop an application so Volunteers can request replenishment of their Peace Corps medical supplies through cell phone text-messages and an online web-form.

Peace Corps Volunteers are widely dispersed in the countries where they serve. However, Peace Corps’ medical supplies are often located at the post headquarters which can be over a day’s travel for many Volunteers. When Volunteers use the medical supplies that have been provided by Peace Corps they need a way to request replenishment of their supplies so the medical staff can send them out with the next quarterly replenishment schedule. Currently Peace Corps medical staff commented that Volunteer requests come in through various means (email, text, call, walk-ins, etc.). It requires a significant amount of their time to manage these requests that come in various forms and they don’t have a centralized way to manage them. Having your help to create an application that can be used with text-messages and through an online web form would help each Peace Corps country’s medical staff to: easily coordinate order requests, inventory tracking, and prepare quarterly distribution of medical supplies. It would help reduce the administrative and time burden on medical staff and allow for Volunteers to order their NPMS supplies in a more efficient manner. Read more...

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Put business within everyone's reach; support a game already developed and in use!

Volunteers in Peace Corps Paraguay have developed a game that allows players to simulate business decisions. The simulation helps players of all ages and genders understand that business is within their reach. This game has already had an impact, serving as a primary event in a nationwide entrepreneurship workshop hosted by Peace Corps Paraguay. It is also being shared with Paraguayan organizations for use in their workshops. We believe the game can be useful across the world (with or without a Peace Corps volunteer present). As such, our main goal is to package the game for that dispersal. We’d also like to explore conversion to another platform, hosting the game online, and improving the design of the game. Read more...

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User-friendly and simple grade book software with an editable text allowing the program to be easily translated, and also a "print report card" mode.

Often schools receive computers and other technology that is not used because the teachers do not know English or the program they might use is too complicated, such as using Excel to keep track of grades. A very simple grade book that would allow teachers to keep track of scores and absences would increase the likelihood of the teachers incorporating technology into their profession. Having an option to edit the titles in the program so that they could be typed in the native language of the community would further encourage school wide use. Lastly, a print report card or email option would give teachers an easy way to let parents know how their children are performing in the class. Read more...

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Create a mobile app integrated with the VRF to allow real-time input of data/activities as opposed to waiting to enter data. This would replace archaic booklets.

One of the things Peace Corps Thailand is trying to refine is our methods of monitoring and evaluation. As Peace Corps headquarters know we have Volunteer Reporting Form (VRF) tri-annual surveys to report on. Our group, 124, has repeatedly discussed the constant challenges of successfully and accurately reporting about our service with this document. Creating an application that would help keep better track of data will make it easy to look and see what has been completed in one VRF cycle.The more we can refine the data and present an accurate representation of served communities and individuals, the better we can tailor our help, not only nationwide, but worldwide as an organization. Read more...

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A game that can be played on a smart phone that teaches the player about the causes of soil erosion in Lesotho.

My community in the country of Lesotho faces serious soil erosion problems, but has little understanding as to how soil erosion occurs. If smartphones could be distributed with a game similar to Farmville that teaches the user about overgrazing, soil-saving farming practices, and how soil erosion manifests perhaps the erosion can be slowed down. Smartphones would be the best platform because many people in my community already know how to use smartphones whereas most are not computer literate. Also, the smartphones would be easier to charge with the limited solar power we use here in the community rather than laptops making them a more sustainable option. Read more...

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Low-tech antennae for cell phones

In the rural villages of Tanzania, like the small village where I live, cell phone service is not even close to reliable. We (the villagers and I) have to walk around to parts of the village to try to get even one bar of service. It seems (I'm not quite certain yet) that the weather affects service as well, so there are many times when there is no service to be found whatsoever. If we could find a way to construct a low-tech, low-cost antennae to either plug in or be near to increase signal strength, our village would be able to connect to other villages without simply traveling to them. This would save time (no need to travel as much) as well as money (cost of continuous attempts at calls that get cut off or have very poor quality). Read more...

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Mobile app notifications of inventory status and stock outs of essential medicines at rural clinics and hospitals for HIV/AIDS, TB, and chronic disease patients.

South Africa is home to the largest epidemics of HIV and TB in the world. Nearly 60% of TB patients are concurrently infected with HIV. Additionally, chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are slowly becoming an increasing problem. Providing patients with information about the availability essential medicines can potentially improve patient treatment compliance, alleviate household financial stressors, allow for better continuity of care at the home based care level, and may improve clinic and hospital communication with the community. Read more...

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