News archive

August 2004

Halcrow's database skills help Sudan civil war victims

Halcrow has been working with the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) on its Sudan Abduction and Slavery Project, developing RVI’s database of abductees. In turn, the database is helping aid agencies such as Save The Children Fund UK and Unicef to identify those abducted in raids during the country’s long civil war and attempt to return them to their homes.

The team is making it possible to improve the quality of the data through elimination of things like spelling mistakes, duplications and incorrect dates. It is also providing a more flexible search mechanism and a database structure that can be used elsewhere in similar situations. Pete Johnson, Halcrow’s project manager explains, “This is a unique commission for Halcrow. The expertise is based on the software we use for a wide range of rail information technology systems and reflects the need for good quality data management and manipulation. Using our knowledge for such a good cause has been a very satisfying experience.”

The database is the result of 18 months of field research in southern Sudan, recording the names and identifying details of individuals who were abducted. The questionnaire for abductees, for example, contains 118 data fields, including their village and clan affiliation, as well as the circumstances of their abduction.

So far the research has identified more than 12,000 people abducted between 1983 and 2002. Over half of these people were under 18 years of age when they were abducted. The number of victims continues to rise as further data comes in.

“Halcrow has been immensely helpful to us in developing the software for our investigation,” said John Ryle, chairman of the Rift Valley Institute. “Pete Johnson and his team have displayed a combination of technical inventiveness and enthusiasm for this work that has made a real difference to the project.”

More information on the project can be found at www.riftvalley.net/inside/projects.ht.

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