Sahana Software Foundation
Sahana Software Foundation is a Los Angeles, California-based non-profit organization founded to promote free and open-source software (FOSS) for disaster and emergency management. The foundation's mission statement is to "save lives by providing information management solutions that enable organizations and communities to better prepare for and respond to disasters." The foundation's Sahana family of software products includes Eden, designed for humanitarian needs management; Vesuvius, focused on the disaster preparedness needs of the medical community; and legacy earlier versions of Sahana software including Krakatoa, descended from the original Sahana code base developed following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The word "Sahana" means "relief" in Sinhalese, one of two national languages of Sri Lanka. History The Sahana Software Foundation's roots began after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004, when a team of Sri Lankan technology workers associated with the Lanka Software Foundation (LSF) developed software that the government could use to coordinate assistance for those affected by the tsunami. Sahana was created for information management and collaboration in the aftermath. The software was designed to resolve common coordination problems during a disaster, including facilitating the search for missing people, aid and volunteer management, and victim tracking across refugee camps. LSF, as the first owner of the intellectual property making up Sahana software, coordinated ongoing volunteer efforts to maintain the software, and managed the associated donated funds. Sahana software grew into a global free and open-source software project supported by hundreds of volunteer contributors from dozens of countries. It supported national and local authorities and relief agencies in their responses to numerous large-scale, sudden-onset disasters. The software was originally deployed by the Sri Lankan government's Center of National Operations (CNO), which included the Center of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA). Additional funding was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), IBM and the US National Science Foundation (NSF). In early 2009, the directors of the Lanka Software Foundation decided to allow the Sahana group to spin off into its own organization. In 2009, the Sahana Software Foundation was established as a non-profit organization registered in the state of California. Mark Prutsalis was appointed as the group's first CEO. In July 2014, the foundation announced that Michael Howden, a member of the board of directors, had been appointed as its new CEO. Since September 2016, Devin Balkind has served as President. Sahana FOSS Disaster Management System The Sahana Free and Open Source Disaster Management System is emergency management and disaster preparedness software developed by the Sahana Software Foundation. Conceived during the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami to help manage the disaster, Sahana software was deployed by the Sri Lankan government's Center of National Operations (CNO), which included the Center of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA). Funding was provided by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). The project has grown, with deployments during other disasters such as the Asian Quake in Pakistan (2005), the Southern Leyte mudslide disaster in Philippines (2006), the Jogjakarta earthquake in Indonesia (2006) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Sahana currently