Jul 28 14
Reconnecting South Sudanese Families Christopher Mikkelsen, co-founder of Refugees United (REFUNITE), reflects on the dire humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and shares observations from his recent mission to Juba in South Sudan. I had expected a hair-dryer’s blast when the doors opened. Last I was here, the temperature crept past 44 degrees and didn’t so much stifle you as kick you like a horse’s hoof. Today, however, a pleasant 32 degrees awaited me, as did a fairly functional immigration process. So far so good… In Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, REFUNITE with partners Kenya Red Cross Society,…
Jul 7 14
REFUNITE Invited to Vodacom DRC’s World Refugee Day Event in Goma
July 7, 2014 — Vodacom DRC featured REFUNITE as part of their World Refugee Day event in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Staff from Vodacom participated in a celebration of the resilience of internally displaced peoples and refugees, complete with performances, dancing, and opportunities for attendees to register on the REFUNITE platform. Enjoy the photo essay below, featuring both the hard work and lively celebrations that made the day memorable. CONTACT Carolyn Nash, Communications Coordinator for REFUNITE (cn@refunite.org)
Jun 20 14
Safaricom, REFUNITE and KRCS Join Celebration of World Refugee Day in Kakuma Refugee Camp
June 20, 2014 – Today marked the commemoration of World Refugee Day 2014 in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where Refugees United (REFUNITE) runs a mobile outreach program to reconnect separated families with Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). In order to highlight the resilience, determination, and courage of men and women who are displaced by conflicts around the world, a wide range of organizations join forces in a celebration event organized by the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR. Safaricom, REFUNITE and KRCS will participate in the event to showcase their innovate program pioneered in the camp between the three organizations,…
Jun 20 14
Two Rwandan Brothers Reconnect after Twenty Years Apart
The story below was recalled by Rwandan refugee Bandele.* The details described are accurate to the best of his recollection. Although he was still a child when the violence broke out, Bandele, a Rwandan refugee who now lives in Kampala, remembers a time his family lived in peace. When war ravaged his home country, Bandele was separated from his parents and siblings. For twenty years, he lived without knowledge of their whereabouts. But a chance introduction to REFUNITE led Bandele down a path to reconnect with his older brother. The two brothers continue the search for their other siblings and…
Jun 20 14
Pilot Project in Kakuma Refugee Camp Culminates in Short Films by Refugees, for Refugees
June 20, 2014 – Refugees United (REFUNITE) and FilmAid International are pleased to announce the launch of three short films produced in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. The three films, released in Sudanese Arabic, Somali, and French, show how separated refugee families can take the search for missing loved ones into their own hands through a mobile device and through the REFUNITE family reconnection platform. ”Everyone has a right to know where their family is,” said Ida Jeng, Director of Global Communication and Strategy of REFUNITE. ”The families we serve have survived terrible hardship. Our goal is to focus on…
Jun 20 14
Lonestar Cell MTN Liberia, Ericsson and REFUNITE to Launch Service to Reconnect Families
June 20, 2014 – World Refugee Day is dedicated to generating awareness of refugees around the world. On this day, observed on June 20th, 2014, Refugees United (REFUNITE), Ericsson and Lonestar Cell MTN Liberia announce the launch of a mobile application and a large-scale SMS campaign to reconnect of families caught in the humanitarian crisis that has plagued Liberia and the neighboring Ivory Coast. Recognizing that everyone has the right to know where their family is, the three organizations aim to use technology to reconnect families. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Liberia is home to an estimated…
Jun 18 14
How Can Refugees Use Technology to Better Their Lives?
Join this Tweet chat on Thursday, June 19th, from 17:00 to 18:00 CET. Share your views using hashtag #WRD2014. June 18, 2014 – Refugees United (REFUNITE) looks forward to participating in a live Tweet chat, hosted by our long-time technology lead Ericsson (@ericssonsustain). The tweet chat will take place on Thursday, June 19th, from 17:00 to 18:00 CET, as organizations gear up for World Refugee Day the following day. Christopher Mikkelsen (@refunitedotorg), REFUNITE’s co-founder and co-CEO will participate in the Tweet chat and share cases from Refugees United (@refunite). Join the conversation using #WRD2014 A UN-declared holiday, World Refugee Day…
Jun 7 14
Cracking the Code: How to Speak REFUNITE
A fair amount of the work we do at REFUNITE takes place in refugee camps, where we work with communities to build our family-reconnection platform and mobile application. But building our global platform and multilingual apps also requires pulling an occasional late-nighter in front of the computer. If there’s anything we take (almost) as seriously as our mission to reconnect families, it’s our ability to communicate quickly with our colleagues – which sometimes means it sounds as though we’re speaking in code. To give you a glimpse into the geeky and often-abstruse language of our team, we present a list…
Jun 4 14
REFUNITE Joins Guardian Panel Discussion
June 4, 2014 — REFUNITE’s Ida Jeng recently participated in a live panel discussion, hosted by The Guardian, that focused on the role of technology in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The conversation also included representatives from BBC Media Action, UNDP, The World Bank, and more. After the online discussion, The Guardian published this summary highlighting nine ways to harness technological innovations for development. CONTACT Carolyn Nash, Communications Coordinator for REFUNITE (cn@refunite.org)
Jun 4 14
The REFUNITE Family Grows
June 4, 2014 — REFUNITE is pleased to announce the hiring of Software Developer Reuben Paul Wafula and Machine Learning Expert Laban Mwangi. Both new members of our team will join our Kenya-based staff at our offices at 88Mph. They bring to the table impressive educational, professional, and personal backgrounds, along with the enthusiasm and dedication that makes our staff so effective. Meet Laban – The Trance Music Gamer Laban worked “in a previous life” as a systems engineer for the Amazon Web Services Development Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. He’s also had experience working with Internet, mobile, and software…
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