Originally posted by Angela Rupchock-Schafer, Social Media Manager, CWS We all do it. We get so caught up in the day-to-day bits and pieces of our lives, sometimes we forget to sit back and marvel when joy finds us. For the past month, CWS has been working together with Google+, RYOT news, UNHCR and Refugees United to make something new and vibrant happen in the world of communications. And in the heat of the moment, I almost missed the magic we made possible together as a team. Soni and his nephew, Edmond, have not seen each other for seven years. Torn apart by the conflict in the…

Panelists pictured above On Saturday, students and professionals learned that sometimes one has to go low-tech to bring disconnected families onto a high-tech platform.  Speaking at the annual Net Impact Conference in Silicon Valley, CA, Refugees United co-founder David Mikkelsen shared the successes that his organization has seen through their “low-tech” call-center and toll-free telephone lines. “We must remember that millions of people around the world still don’t have access to the internet,” Mr. Mikkelsen reflected, while also listing other barriers, such as illiteracy. In their quest to reconnect families separated by war, conflict and disaster, Refugees United and partners…

Nairobi, Kenya—On 17th October 2013, more than 100 techies and aid workers gathered to discuss and share insights on technological innovations in the humanitarian field, marking the launch of the 2013 World Disasters Report. Held at the iHub, an innovation hub for Nairobi’s tech community, organizations such as the Kenya Red Cross, the UN World Food Programme and BBC Media came together to showcase their use of technology in humanitarian action. Refugees United was invited to showcase our online and mobile family tracing platform, which is now accessible through even basic mobile phones without internet in selected African countries. Everyone…

In continuation of our efforts to support families separated by conflict, famine or disaster, Refugees United is pleased to extend our on-the-ground mobile operations to Uganda. Launching next week in Kampala, our program will initially target the nearly 30,000 urban refugees who live within the city limits.  Most refugees in the area are of Congolese decent, followed by South Sudanese and Ethiopian. Refugees United will be working with InterAid, UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency), the Xavier Project and the Office of the Prime Minister to increase awareness of the Refugees United tool and register those in need. Project Lead, Duke…

Refugees United and RCK in Eastleigh Streets of Eastleigh Visiting Ethiopian refugees, Eastleigh Refugees United in Nairobi, September 2011 Chapter 2. One of the most impacting experiences of the week was an afternoon that Chris and I spent in Eastleigh together with Vladimir and one of our local community mobilizers (these are refugees themselves, employed through the Refugee Consortium of Kenya to help spread awareness about Refugees United and help refugees sign up to our platform). Our aim was to gain some first-hand insights into our ‘customer base’ and better understand the work of our community mobilizers and the related…