TSF OPENS THE FIRST INTERNET CENTRE
FOR 1,000 SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 4 million civilians have been displaced inside Syria, and that more than one million have fled the war and are sheltered in camps in neighbouring Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. More than half are children with a majority under the age of 11. These children have been traumatised by the war that has been raging for more than 2 years.
Technology and communications can play a crucial role to help them rebuild their lives, so TSF opened an Internet centre in a school for 1,000 Syrian children in Gaziantep, Turkey. Most of these children are from the region of Aleppo which is located 120 km from this major city in eastern Turkey.
The centre, run by Syrian teachers, provides access to broadband Internet so that the children can open themselves to the World and stay in touch with their relatives, in Syria and abroad, via Skype and email. Computer courses also offer them the opportunity to have some entertainment, and forget the trauma of war. This Internet centre provides a variety of educational resources, notably for mathematics, history and geography, and benefits from the support of specialised teachers.
About Télécoms Sans Frontières
Télécoms Sans Frontières: the leading humanitarian NGO specialised in emergency telecommunications
Thanks to its 24-hour monitoring centre and particularly its operational bases in Europe, Central America, Asia, and its representation in Washington, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) crews of IT and telecoms specialists can intervene anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours. After a sudden onset disaster or conflict, they can set up in a matter of minutes a satellite-based telecoms centre offering broadband Internet, phone and fax lines. These centres enable
emergency NGOs, the United Nations and local authorities to communicate right at the heart of a crisis. They also facilitate the coordination of aid efforts. In parallel, TSF runs humanitarian calling operations to offer support and assistance to affected civilians, giving them a link with the outside world from which they would be otherwise completely cut off.
Beyond emergency response, TSF is also engaged in ongoing prevention and development programs, including technology centres for local populations, and support to projects in collaboration with stakeholders from multiple sectors (health, agriculture, education…). TSF also organizes general training sessions in emergency telecommunications for other relief organizations and national disaster response agencies in order to reinforce the efficiency of humanitarian
action worldwide. Emergency kits are provided to regional offices, comprising satellite communications and IT equipment and including power supplies, so that when commercial infrastructure is cut off, offices can stay connected, report and coordinate with the central agency. These long-term education and training projects lead to positive impacts
in economic development as well as capability building of humanitarian organizations.
TSF is partner of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO). In 2006, TSF was designated “First Emergency Telecoms Responder” within the United Nations Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) and became a partner of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Télécoms Sans Frontières is also a working group member of the United Nations emergency telecoms body (WGET) and a member of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).
Since its creation in 1998, TSF deployed to more than 60 countries on 5 continents and assisted more than 700 relief organizations and hundreds of thousands of victims.
For more information, consult: www.tsfi.org
