NetHope, with its extended community of member organizations, tech partners, and governmental and funding entities, is connecting the world’s largest refugee camp in northern Uganda.As we observe World Refugee Day today, NetHope’s mission comes into sharp focus: To improve the human condition.When NetHope considers the 65.6 million people around the world forcibly displaced from their … Continued
We all know that cellphones and the internet have revolutionized how we all perform our work and daily lives. But access to phones is also transforming the lives of refugees escaping war zones and persecution in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the Middle East.As the numbers of refugees entering Greece and the Balkan … Continued
Defined Without Borders and Adobe’s Project 1324 Challenge Give Voice to Conflict-Affected Youth Being a teenager is a time of exciting new experiences, a time for exploration of new ideas, developing paths for creativity, and finding one’s place and purpose in the larger world.But for millions of youth around the world, that time is defined by … Continued
(Standing, left to right: Jason Hoac, Ron Snyder, and Matt Altman, from Cisco; Rami Shakra, Jose Arsenio Gonzalez and Eduardo Quiñones, from Cisco. Sitting, left to right: Ingolfur Haradlsson, Amanda Gonzalez, Ruth Graulau, Emma Gonzalez, Vanessa Molina, Gabriel and Cecilia Quiñones-Molina.)By Rami Shakra, Director of Field Connectivity During the initial weeks of NetHope’s Puerto Rico response, … Continued
By Kristin KalningNashaly Alvarado, 22, has lived in Juana Diaz, on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, all her life. Before Hurricane Maria, she was unemployed and volunteering at a music camp. A meteorology enthusiast, Nashaly was also watching the storm closely as it came out of Africa and moved with increasing ferocity toward her … Continued
By Kristin KalningWhen NetHope began its mission to reconnect Wi-Fi and cell service in Puerto Rico in the days after Hurricane Maria, there were more than a few logistical challenges.Basics – such as food, water, and shelter – were in short supply. Without power, team members sometimes used headlamps and paper maps to sketch out … Continued
By Theresa Ritzer and Sybille FleischmannEvery Monday and Wednesday afternoon, the Serlo Lab School in Munich opens its doors to students from the neighborhood. There, experienced educators and teachers-in-training offer free math tutoring to high school students who need extra practice. Among these students are young refugees, who use the opportunity to catch up on … Continued
By Kristin KalningSAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Casey Harrity, Hurricane Response Team Leader for Save the Children, deployed from Washington D.C. to the island on September 24.“In the first days after the storm, the entire island was without power or cell coverage; lines for … Continued
By Kate HurowitzEditor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a volunteer member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and its official mission storyteller.Jose Nazario is a first-time NetHope volunteer from Google, who went to Puerto Rico in October for a two-week deployment. I sat down with him to get … Continued
By Kate Hurowitz Editor’s note: Kate Hurowitz, an internal communications manager at Google, was a member of the NetHope team deployed to Puerto Rico and its official mission storyteller.El Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico (The Puerto Rico Food Bank) sits in a nondescript warehouse near a busy intersection in Bayamon, just outside of San Juan. … Continued