PRESS RELEASE

Nairobi, Kenya – In keeping with this year’s World Refugee Day theme of “One family torn apart by war is too many,” Safaricom in partnership with Refugees United and Ericsson have launched Refugees United, a mobile phone platform to reunite families.

By dialing *883#, Safaricom subscribers can search for missing loved ones for free. Subscribers can also access the same service via a zero rated URL www.refunite.org. Safaricom is also offering a toll free helpline 0800 724 882 where users can receive assistance on Refugees United in multiple languages.

There are more than 43 million forcibly displaced people globally and Kenya plays host to almost a million of these with the number increasing by the day. This means the need to reconnect separated families is enormous.

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said: “Millions of families have been separated as they flee violence and war in their home countries. Refugees United empowers separated family members to take the search for missing loved ones into their own hands.”

The Refugees United database currently contains more than 185,000 users and the target is to reach one million users on the platform by 2015. The search for missing family members, friends and relatives is done on an anonymous basis to ensure security of every individual in the platform.

David Mikkelsen, Co-founder Refugees United said: “Everyone has the right to know where their family is. Thanks to Ericsson and Safaricom, we are able to reach thousands of new families by making the access to our free service easier than ever.”

Ericsson is the main technology partner and provides technical expertise, technology support, and operational advice to Refugees United.

“This initiative has the power to transform the nature of family tracing for generations to come. It is an example of how mobile technology is truly changing the lives of people on the African continent for good,” said Margaret Kositany, Director of Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility at Ericsson Kenya.

World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

REFUGEES UNITED

Refugees United, www.refunite.org is a tech non-profit with the mission of reconnecting separated families. The Refugees United service is accessible via a computer or any entry-level mobile phone and is free of charge. Users provide only the amount of information that they themselves find safe to share, which give them the opportunity of staying anonymous. Www.refunite.org is available in multiple languages and contains searchable profiles of more than 180,000 users.

Collaborating with large mobile network operators like Safaricom in Kenya and Vodacom in DRC, Refugees United is able to leverage the mobile platform free of charge to families in some of the world’s most refugee prone countries. Refugees United also collaborates with Kenya Red Cross Society and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR. Ericsson supports Refugees United as main technology partner. 

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT

Ida Jeng, Refugees United’s Communication Manager. ij@refunite.org. / + 45 31 49 31 93