In commemoration of World Refugee Day 2015, Refugees United (REFUNITE) is pleased to announce the launch of a countrywide SMS campaign in partnership with mobile network operator Telesom in Somaliland to help forcefully displaced families find their missing loved ones.

A helpline has been provided to encourage families to register on the global family-tracing platform.

Two decades of civil war has had a devastating impact on the people of Somaliland. Many have lost family members, friends, neighbours, as well as homes and livelihoods.

According to the UN Refugee agency, UNHCR, there are currently 1,106,068 refugees and 1,133,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) originating from Somalia.

Through the SMS campaign, thousands of families can search for missing family members within their country, in neighbouring Kenya and elsewhere.

“REFUNITE is leveraging new and innovative technologies to reconnect thousands of families displaced by the conflict in Somalia. We believe everyone has the right to know where their family is,” says Christopher Mikkelsen, REFUNITE Co-Founder and Co-CEO.

To reach these families, thousands of SMS messages are being sent out to subscribers who can also call the helpline to reach REFUNITE’s call center and register for the family tracing service.

This is the second campaign to be launched in Somaliland by REFUNITE and Telesom. We believe that this partnership will further the goal of bringing one million people onto the family tracing platform by the end of 2015.