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| How a Canadian app is helping refugees find food, clean water and medical care | How a Canadian app is helping refugees find food, clean water and medical care |
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| For the hundreds of thousands of refugees still navigating the often treacherous journey from the Middle East to Europe, the challenges don’t end once they hit safer shores. The complex bureaucracy of governments and aid organizations can make finding basic necessities like shelter, food and medical care maddeningly difficult. | For the hundreds of thousands of refugees still navigating the often treacherous journey from the Middle East to Europe, the challenges don’t end once they hit safer shores. The complex bureaucracy of governments and aid organizations can make finding basic necessities like shelter, food and medical care maddeningly difficult. |
| A big issue for humanitarian organizations is finding an efficient and effective way to get up-to-date information to refugees and other aid groups. Typically, these organizations maintain their own lists of services that they might share with other groups. But it’s difficult to keep the lists current because of a high turnover of staff , and the fact that the activities and services they offer change frequently. | A big issue for humanitarian organizations is finding an efficient and effective way to get up-to-date information to refugees and other aid groups. Typically, these organizations maintain their own lists of services that they might share with other groups. But it’s difficult to keep the lists current because of a high turnover of staff , and the fact that the activities and services they offer change frequently. |
| Now, a new web app, created by Canadian tech startup PeaceGeeks, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to bring all this information together in one place to make it easier for refugees to find what they need. | Now, a new web app, created by Canadian tech startup PeaceGeeks, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aims to bring all this information together in one place to make it easier for refugees to find what they need. |
| The app, called Services Advisor, is available in both English and Arabic, and can be accessed using a smartphone or computer. It lists categories including shelter, health, education, protection, food and clean water. Users click on a category, and a list appears with detailed information about when and where they can access the type of service they want, including a map with clickable pins. For example, if someone selects “food”, a list comes up of charity organizations, such as International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), that provide items such as vouchers and parcels of food. In this instance, whoever is clicking will see that the service is only available to Jordanians and Syrians and that opening hours are Sunday to Thursday. | The app, called Services Advisor, is available in both English and Arabic, and can be accessed using a smartphone or computer. It lists categories including shelter, health, education, protection, food and clean water. Users click on a category, and a list appears with detailed information about when and where they can access the type of service they want, including a map with clickable pins. For example, if someone selects “food”, a list comes up of charity organizations, such as International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), that provide items such as vouchers and parcels of food. In this instance, whoever is clicking will see that the service is only available to Jordanians and Syrians and that opening hours are Sunday to Thursday. |
| The app is also aimed at humanitarian and aid organizations to help them guide refugees to the right services. For instance, a health worker may see a child for a medical checkup, but discover the child isn’t in school. The app allows the worker to find the right education service for that child, and make a referral to the organization if needed. | The app is also aimed at humanitarian and aid organizations to help them guide refugees to the right services. For instance, a health worker may see a child for a medical checkup, but discover the child isn’t in school. The app allows the worker to find the right education service for that child, and make a referral to the organization if needed. |
| “Refugees arriving in a new country have no job, no home and no support system to access even their most basic needs,” said Renee Black, executive director of PeaceGeeks. “Technology can play a critical role in empowering refugees to be active agents in their own future.” | “Refugees arriving in a new country have no job, no home and no support system to access even their most basic needs,” said Renee Black, executive director of PeaceGeeks. “Technology can play a critical role in empowering refugees to be active agents in their own future.” |
| Services Advisor is trying to eliminate the need for every organization to maintain their own lists of services offered by them and other groups. With the web app, organizations only need to update information about their own services, which is then shared in one central place online. | Services Advisor is trying to eliminate the need for every organization to maintain their own lists of services offered by them and other groups. With the web app, organizations only need to update information about their own services, which is then shared in one central place online. |
| PeaceGeeks hopes to launch the app this month, first to service providers, and then to refugees in December. Once the app is ready, UNHCR will send a text message to the more than 650,000 refugees under its mandate to alert them. The agency will also distribute brochures to advertise the app. PeaceGeeks presently doesn’t charge any ongoing licensing fees and the app will always be free to service providers and refugees. The company has put more than $200,000 into the app to date, according to Black, and is now hoping to raise a further $40,000 to launch in Somalia and Turkey in January. | PeaceGeeks hopes to launch the app this month, first to service providers, and then to refugees in December. Once the app is ready, UNHCR will send a text message to the more than 650,000 refugees under its mandate to alert them. The agency will also distribute brochures to advertise the app. PeaceGeeks presently doesn’t charge any ongoing licensing fees and the app will always be free to service providers and refugees. The company has put more than $200,000 into the app to date, according to Black, and is now hoping to raise a further $40,000 to launch in Somalia and Turkey in January. |
| It might seem incongruous that refugees have access to smartphones, when many have fled their home countries with scarcely more than the clothes on their back. But according to humanitarian agency Mercy Corps, 85% of Syrian refugees have a smartphone. | It might seem incongruous that refugees have access to smartphones, when many have fled their home countries with scarcely more than the clothes on their back. But according to humanitarian agency Mercy Corps, 85% of Syrian refugees have a smartphone. |
| It’s not all that surprising that the current flock of refugees are technologically-minded, said Paul Spiegel, a professor of health systems and director of the center for refugee and disaster response at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Syria is a middle-income country, meaning people are well educated and were already using smartphones and various social media apps at home. According to a report from phone manufacturer Ericsson, there were 395m mobile phone subscriptions in the Middle East in 2016, a number the report says will increase by more than 200% between by 2021. | It’s not all that surprising that the current flock of refugees are technologically-minded, said Paul Spiegel, a professor of health systems and director of the center for refugee and disaster response at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Syria is a middle-income country, meaning people are well educated and were already using smartphones and various social media apps at home. According to a report from phone manufacturer Ericsson, there were 395m mobile phone subscriptions in the Middle East in 2016, a number the report says will increase by more than 200% between by 2021. |
| “Now they’re using social media to help them deal with a new situation,” Spiegel said. | “Now they’re using social media to help them deal with a new situation,” Spiegel said. |
| Spiegel has seen firsthand how integral smartphones have become for refugees to communicate with family and friends. “When I was in Greece, the first thing that the Syrians did when they got out of the boat was not to ask for water or food,” he said. “It was to unwrap their smartphones that were intricately wrapped in cellophane or Ziploc bags – and call either home or their relatives and friends who arrived ahead of them.” | Spiegel has seen firsthand how integral smartphones have become for refugees to communicate with family and friends. “When I was in Greece, the first thing that the Syrians did when they got out of the boat was not to ask for water or food,” he said. “It was to unwrap their smartphones that were intricately wrapped in cellophane or Ziploc bags – and call either home or their relatives and friends who arrived ahead of them.” |
| Services Advisor isn’t the first web tool of its kind. Mercy Corps, together with the International Rescue Committee and Google, launched a website and app called Refugee.info (formerly Refugeeinfo.eu) in 2015, which helps refugees arriving in Greece find services such as lodging, medical facilities and transport. The website, available in four languages including Farsi and Arabic, has about 1,000 unique users a day and reaches about half of all the refugees in Greece. | Services Advisor isn’t the first web tool of its kind. Mercy Corps, together with the International Rescue Committee and Google, launched a website and app called Refugee.info (formerly Refugeeinfo.eu) in 2015, which helps refugees arriving in Greece find services such as lodging, medical facilities and transport. The website, available in four languages including Farsi and Arabic, has about 1,000 unique users a day and reaches about half of all the refugees in Greece. |
| “At the height of the European migrant crisis, people were moving through borders and countries very quickly, the context changed from day to day,” said Sonal Shinde, director of migration response at Mercy Corps. “We found that technology was best to respond to this need for information – it’s flexible, responsive and can be adapted to meet changing needs and contexts.” | “At the height of the European migrant crisis, people were moving through borders and countries very quickly, the context changed from day to day,” said Sonal Shinde, director of migration response at Mercy Corps. “We found that technology was best to respond to this need for information – it’s flexible, responsive and can be adapted to meet changing needs and contexts.” |
| Mercy Corps recently relaunched the site following focus groups with both female and male refugees in Greece. The site was first geared towards an emergency setting, offering information on food and shelter for people moving from place to place. Since the EU-Turkey refugee deal and the closing of borders, the website was modified to include information more suited to a static population. For instance, refugees in Lesvos, Greece can find information on education and schooling. The new site also links to the app and a Facebook page, “given that many people use the social media site as a portal of information,” said Shinde. | Mercy Corps recently relaunched the site following focus groups with both female and male refugees in Greece. The site was first geared towards an emergency setting, offering information on food and shelter for people moving from place to place. Since the EU-Turkey refugee deal and the closing of borders, the website was modified to include information more suited to a static population. For instance, refugees in Lesvos, Greece can find information on education and schooling. The new site also links to the app and a Facebook page, “given that many people use the social media site as a portal of information,” said Shinde. |
| One of the biggest challenges with these kinds of apps is managing the data over time, said Black. “It’s really complicated. You need to have really good relationships with the different groups doing this work to make sure that the tools you’re developing are working for their needs.” | One of the biggest challenges with these kinds of apps is managing the data over time, said Black. “It’s really complicated. You need to have really good relationships with the different groups doing this work to make sure that the tools you’re developing are working for their needs.” |
| The key is to have someone managing the data and staying in close contact with the humanitarian organizations on the ground to ensure the information is regularly updated. With Services Advisor, that job falls to UNHCR. | The key is to have someone managing the data and staying in close contact with the humanitarian organizations on the ground to ensure the information is regularly updated. With Services Advisor, that job falls to UNHCR. |
| “It’s absolutely essential,” Black said. “If you don’t have someone who owns the problem of managing the data, then all of a sudden you have an app with a whole bunch of data, but you have no idea of the quality of it.” | “It’s absolutely essential,” Black said. “If you don’t have someone who owns the problem of managing the data, then all of a sudden you have an app with a whole bunch of data, but you have no idea of the quality of it.” |
| If that happens, refugees will quickly realize the information is out of date, and stop using the app, she said. There are also other considerations, particularly to do with access to electricity and technology. Refugees living in camps often don’t have access to electricity to power up their phones. Access to a smartphone also depends on nationality and gender. While the majority of Syrian refugees own smartphones, few Afghan refugees do, according to Mercy Corps. Afghans that do have smartphones are typically men. | If that happens, refugees will quickly realize the information is out of date, and stop using the app, she said. There are also other considerations, particularly to do with access to electricity and technology. Refugees living in camps often don’t have access to electricity to power up their phones. Access to a smartphone also depends on nationality and gender. While the majority of Syrian refugees own smartphones, few Afghan refugees do, according to Mercy Corps. Afghans that do have smartphones are typically men. |
| “Through our focus groups in Greece, the majority of Arabic speaking women told us that they obtained most of their information in communal bathrooms,” Shinde said. | |
| UNHCR Jordan has contracted PeaceGeeks to maintain and do ongoing development of the app, and UNHCR Turkey has contracted the company to deploy Services Advisor there. | UNHCR Jordan has contracted PeaceGeeks to maintain and do ongoing development of the app, and UNHCR Turkey has contracted the company to deploy Services Advisor there. |