Recently 13 Convoy of Hope staffers and six volunteers, ranging in age from 12 to 72 years old, received their Tech Class amateur radio licenses. Amateur radio (also know as “ham” radio) is a vital tool in disaster responses because when most other communication options have failed, amateur radio is still viable. The term “amateur” is not a reflection on the skills of the participants, which are often quite advanced. It designates that radio communications are not allowed to be made for commercial or money-making purposes. Amateur radio is commonly used in disasters to help emergency responders communicate with one another, as well as to assist survivors to communicate messages to loved ones in other areas.
“One of the most surprising things to learn is that ham radio is not just for voice communication,” said Paul Coroleuski, Field Services Director for Convoy of Hope. “The technology out there now allows for faxes, emails and even photos to be sent via amateur radio signal, all of which are elements critical to our communications on to the field and in the field during our response.”
One advantage of amateur radio is that it takes relatively low levels of power to use, Coroleuski said. “The power from a simple car battery is enough to communicate around the world.”
The training was provided by one of Convoy of Hope’s national partners, North American Mission Board SOUTHBEARS (SOUTHern Baptist Emergency Amateur Radio Service). NAMB is a well known in the disaster response community and the amateur radio community for its vast network of hams.
Convoy of Hope is currently in the process of developing a similar network of volunteers to assist our disaster operations in times of disaster. An estimated six million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio.
“Amateur radio gives us the opportunity to build a vast network of operators across the nation who can assist us with assessment of disasters without us having to send someone from Springfield to the disaster site. These hams can be our eyes and ears on the ground,” said Kary Kingsland, director of Convoy of Hope U.S. Disaster Response. “This saves us both time and money, making us a more effective response organization.” Ham radio operators will also be used at Convoy of Hope disaster sites to operate the amateur radio station on the ground.
Ham radio communications will not only be used for assessment, but to relay messages for disaster survivors; to facilitate communication between volunteer teams; and for the field team to communicate back to Convoy of Hope’s world headquarters in Springfield, MO. Additionally, members of other Convoy of Hope departments, including International, Procurement, and Communications participated in the training, giving ham radio a broad range of application within Convoy of Hope.
Coroleuski has been enhancing Convoy of Hope’s amateur radio equipment both for the headquarters office and for the Mobile Command Center (MCC). “We have VHF, UHF and HF capability in both locations, which gives us the ability to communicate both locally and globally,” he said. In the future we will look to install a VHF/UHF repeater in the Mobile Command Center. “If all the repeaters in a disaster area get knocked out, having the repeater allows us to communicate, and to allow other hams to use it for their communications also, providing another service to the community we touch.”
If you are a licensed ham operator and are interested in learning more about how to become involved with Convoy of Hope’s amateur radio network, contact us by email or by calling our main offices at 417-823-8998.
