How we are using Android to increase government transparency in Rwanda

blog.nyaruka.com

38 points·enewcomer··4 comments

Wow. This is really impressive.

I am surprised that RapidSMS (the python framework it was built upon) is not given as much props as it deserves. We used it for collecting election info this last April.

I wonder how the tech scene is in Kigali.

Using an Android SMS relayer opens up the door for some pretty interesting projects that can be easily launched in any country without having to fight with telcos.

Add to that RapidSMS and the django smartmin project and you've got an extremely agile framework for building services like this very quickly. (I should also mention that if ever there was an argument to use a vanilla twitter bootstrap style, projects like this are definitely it).

The tech scene is definitely growing in Kigali. We recognize we've got a long way to go, but there is a strong desire to raise that profile. We've been taking steps to create a real tech community here.

It looks like nyaruka's Android SMS relayer app isn't yet publicly available or open source, but in the meantime people can also check out EnvayaSMS (http://sms.envaya.org/). Notably, EnvayaSMS also relays incoming MMS and allows you to exceed Android's limit of 100 outgoing SMS messages per hour.

[Sorry for the self plug, but this is too cool to pass up] 435 days ago I first publicly "launched" KalSMS in an HN thread - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1759871 - the codebase was later picked up by Envaya, greatly improved and morphed into EnvayaSMS. Cool to see people recommending it :)

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