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.

In the department of Chinandega, more than half of women report having suffered physical, sexual or psychological violence. TSF supports the action of the Chinandega Women's Movement Association (MMCH) with a mobile early warning and prevention system to combat such violence.

ICT to help bridge the digital divide in Nicaragua's remote and rural communities

Near the northern border of Nicaragua, Telpaneca is a district populated by indigenous populations. In the eponymous town of 20,000 inhabitants, the economy relies mainly on the production of bananas and coffee. The IT Cup centre opened by TSF in partnership with the PIT facilitates access to ICT for students, teachers, farmers and local NGOs. It also enables residents to learn about the uses of the internet, to improve their daily lives.

TSF organised a capacity building programme to strengthen the humanitarian response system through the optimal use of technologies

TSF contributes to narrowing the digital divide in some of the world’s most remote and vulnerable areas. For the past 10 years, TSF, from its regional base in Nicaragua, has been providing computer and Internet training sessions to the inhabitants of the San Bartolo area. This region situated in the northwest of the country, far from the other main cities, is characterized by its poorly developed rural areas.

Between August 2010 and February 2011, TSF trained 102 staff members from organisations and humanitarian agencies in Asia and Central and Latin America to improve effective use of telecommunications service in emergency situations.

To combat the dengue epidemic that has been spreading in Nicaragua since October 2010, TSF set up an innovative system to monitor the spread of the disease. This system, based on simple SMS, enables the rapid centralisation of reliable data from several dozen health centres. This initiative set up in partnership with the PATH NGO is intensely used by SILAIS, a crisis unit mobilised by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health.

Hurricane Ida swept the coasts of Nicaragua and El Salvador in November 2009. At the request of UNDAC, TSF teams traveled to both countries to provide communications to the United Nations assessment teams.

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.

Following Hurricane Felix, TSF installed three emergency communication centres for the United Nations and the humanitarian community in the Puerto Cabezas region, in partnership with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).

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.