Netaid, a partnership between the United Nations and Cisco Systems, is the largest Web site devoted to international online volunteering. There could be more to come. Coralie Bryant, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, says the Web is beginning to blossom as a tool for international development. “The concept makes a lot of sense,” she says. Netaid, for one, is growing rapidly–it averages 132,000 hits a day, up from 12,000 six months ago.
Finding volunteers online does have drawbacks. “Out of 10 [applications],” says Mugisha, “you only end up with about four volunteers. The rest are just joking around.” Logistical problems abound: a company recently donated 10 computers to PWD, but Mugisha lacks the means to ship them across the Atlantic; several volunteers are building a PWD Web site, but the organization can’t afford to put it online. But Mugisha is thrilled with the progress his volunteers have made. “It’s given us the opportunity to access skills we would otherwise never, ever [have] accessed,” he says.
