Missions

Within the framework of operational partnerships with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Télécoms Sans Frontières is the go-to organisation for providing technical expertise and training workshops on the application of emergency telecommunications in the humanitarian context.

TSF contributes to emergency response with organisations helping people in the province of Manabi, hard hit by the earthquake.

The April 2009 earthquake in Italy left 260 people dead and more than a thousand wounded. The onsite TSF team provided emergency satellite lines to the civil protection coordination centres.

Violent fighting between Russian and Georgian forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia forced 160,000 civilians to settle temporarily in camps where living conditions were particularly difficult. At the request of OCHA, TSF deployed to provide telecom facilities for UNHCR-led assessments in the west of the country. More than 300 families were also able to contact their relatives during telephony operations.

Heavy rains at the end of 2007 caused severe floods that affected several communities in northern and eastern Bolivia. In addition to the 48 fatalities and 5 missing, more than 40,000 families were affected and depended on humanitarian aid. OCHA requested that TSF provide IT and telecom support to UNDAC teams assessing the needs of survivors. Two coordination centres were also connected by TSF in La Paz and Santa Cruz.

Torrential rains fell on the Aosta Valley, the TSF team, equipped with 16 satellite telephone lines, arrived at the Emergency Command Centre 14 hours after the official announcement of the request for international assistance. First NGO present in the field, the team assesses the damages.