Missions

Severe floods in July 2010 killed more than 1,500 people. TSF supported survivors who found themselves in utter destitution by offering free calls in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. In addition, TSF telecom specialists provided communications facilities to UNDAC and OCHA teams in Punjab and Islamabad.

The resumption of conflict between the Pakistani army and the Taliban in May 2009 forced more than 2 million people to flee northwest Pakistan. In very difficult security conditions (attacks, kidnappings), TSF provided more than 3,000 calls to civilians heavily affected and often injured by the violence. In such a context, talking with a loved one is priceless.

300 people lost their lives in the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked Balochistan in October 2008. TSF assisted survivors by offering them a free call. 514 families were able to contact their relatives and give them news through the telephone calls organised by TSF.

TSF deployed a team of emergency telecommunications specialists in the Darfur region of Sudan to conduct an assessment mission for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The mission was to assess the telecommunications infrastructure in Nyala, El Genina and El Fasher to determine the needs of the United Nations and NGOs in these cities located to the west of the country near the Chadian border. This conflict-ridden region, which, according to international experts, had since 2003 killed more than 200,000 people and forced more than two million to flee fighting and take refuge in makeshift camps on both sides of the border in Chad and Sudan.

On 8th October 2005, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India suffered a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. The main affected areas are northwestern India, eastern Afghanistan and especially northern Pakistan. In Pakistan, heavy relief intervention is required, with primary assessments showing the need for a telecommunications service.

With the support of the European Commission (ECHO), TSF mobilised to strengthen coordination and to intervene with the population following the violent earthquake that hit the city of Bam.

On 21st July 2002, an affluent of the river Apure that flows through the southern Venezuelan region of the same name burst its banks and flooded the entire town of Guasdualito and the surrounding area. The equivalent of a whole year’s worth of rain had poured down in just a few days. The Venezuelan government declares a state of emergency in the state of Apure: TSF supports national response mechanism.