They do so in whatever ways they can…So we shouldn’t be surprised. “When refugees are compelled to leave their homes and families are torn asunder, communities get broken, people get split (up), refugees try to stay connected with their families,” Vernon says. In the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi, people who cannot afford anything beyond their basic needs still walk to the center of camp with a single penny: enough to buy one minute of online time they can use to send a brief Facebook message. Refugees living in Tanzania sacrifice significant portions of their food rations in order to buy data. Time and time again, refugees have demonstrated that connectivity is of critical importance to them.
“It will enable us to share information more effectively, communicate more effectively, monitor more effectively, plan more effectively, track results more effectively- all of those elements will be brought to bear to enable us to be more effective in the way we work.” “The disruption, the improvement in humanitarian work will take place as…populations of concern are connected because it will enable us to do our work more effectively,” says Alan Vernon, Connectivity for Refugees project lead. In so doing, it is figuring out ways to bring the digital revolution to displaced people, and to the humanitarians serving them. Now a part of UNHCR’s Innovation Service, Connectivity for Refugees is addressing three key challenges: making connectivity available, affordable, and usable. Letting their loved ones know they had made it to safety could not.Ī powerful tool for protection, education, livelihoods and health, connectivity can also make UNHCR operations more efficient, more cost-effective and ultimately more successful. To them, water, food and shelter could wait.
#INTERNET CONNECTION FULL#
You can view the full microsite here.Īs exhausted, fearful refugees arrived onto Grecian shores, the very first thing some of them asked for was an Internet connection. This essay was originally posted in the recently released report: UNHCR Innovation Service: Year in Review 2016. This report highlights and showcases some of the innovative approaches the organization is taking to address complex refugee challenges and discover new opportunities.
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