Missions

After a powerful cyclone made landfall in Mozambique in the night between 14 and 15 March, TSF teams deployed to the coastal area of Beira to provide communication means to the affected population.

Thanks to the Libreville agreement that put an end to fighting between the Central African army and rebel armed groups, refugees gradually regained their village after two years of absence. TSF supported the rehabilitation project set up by IRC by installing radio links between the capital offices and the bush offices, as well as in vehicles to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers.

The flood of the Zambezi River exceeded the alert level by 3m at the beginning of 2008. More than 100,000 Mozambicans were displaced in temporary accommodation camps. At the request of UNCEF, TSF supported the ETC in the coordination centres of Mopeia, Caia and Mutarara. The team then traveled through the temporary camps to offer free calls to those affected. More than 1000 families were able to give news to their loved ones.

Weeks of heavy rains triggered flash floods along the Zambezi river and its tributaries, washing away homes, bridges, livestock and crops in four central provinces (Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambezia). In coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Unicef, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) responded to the emergency by deploying a first communication centre at the office of the National Disaster Management Institute of Mozambique (INGC) in Caia, only 24 hours after the activation of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) on February 15th.

In Chad, TSF set up a telecommunications centre in the region bordering Sudan. The purpose of this mission was to assist refugees from Darfur who had crossed the border, and to logistically and technically assist NGOs in the field to coordinate their response during this critical period of rainfall.