Samaritan’s Purse

Samaritan’s Purse stands ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

Samaritan’s Purse specialize in meeting critical needs for victims of conflict, disaster, famine, and epidemics throughout the world by providing food, water, shelter, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. Currently, they are present in more than 15 countries worldwide. Most recently, Samaritan’s Purse began operations in Nepal following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 outside Kathmandu.

Before iFormBuilder

Prior to iFormBuilder, Samaritan’s Purse gathered information through paper forms and assessments that later had to be entered into spreadsheets and emails. They also sampled other mobile data collection platforms before settling on iFormBuilder. The goal was to reduce the amount of time it takes to gather critical information in disaster response for decision making, to incorporate real-time location (GIS) into  their assessments and reporting tools, to gather accurate information, and to house information in an authoritative place.

With iFormBuilder

The Samaritan’s Purse disaster assistance response team uses iForm to assess communities following  crises like the earthquake in Nepal or the cyclone that hit Vanuatu several months ago. After and during a rapid assessment phase, the information gathered on where assistance is needed is then used to make distribution plans for emergency relief. During distributions for necessities like food, water, and non-food items, reports are also collected with iFormBuilder and are submitted back to base and headquarters. While this is happening, the incident management team is viewing and synthesizing this information in real or semi-real time (depending on the connectivity).

The ArcGIS Connector is one of the most valued features for the Samaritan’s Purse team. Connecting to their ArcGIS Organizational Account allows the Samaritan’s Purse team to take full advantage of the Esri tools for mapping and analyzing data beyond the spreadsheet.

“This is hands down the best MDC tool on the market – and there’s a great support team in the background when needed. The best part about iForm is it actually works with ease in remote disconnected areas and the setup is fast. You won’t find the accessibility or ease in any other mobile data collection platform out there today.” – Charlie Charping

Results Achieved with iFormBuilder

Samaritan’s Purse has done rapid assessments and responses in international disasters, including Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu and the recent earthquakes in Nepal. They have also recently provided humanitarian aid with protection programs in Cambodia, food and non-food items to conflict displaced people in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo with iFormBuilder. Using iFormBuilder has helped their teams reduce time for data entry, cleaning, and processing; reduced inaccuracies; and provided real-time GIS and mapping. iFormBuilder has given the Samaritan’s Purse team greater situational awareness than they have ever had on projects and responses.

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About the Author

Elaheh Eghbal is a Customer Success Specialist at iFormBuilder. She is an adventurer, photographer, furniture builder, and wannabe foosball pro. If you have any questions about this blog post, she would love to hear from you! Email Elaheh at eeghbal@zerionsoftware.com.