TSF PROVIDES BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE RED CRESCENT IN AL SALAMA CAMP IN SYRIA
Al Salama camp is located close to the Turkish border at the edge of the main road to Aleppo and currently hosts 15,000 Syrian refugees. There are new arrivals every day fleeing bombings taking place only 10 km away.
TSF installed a broadband satellite connection for the refugee Registration Centre, managed by the new Syrian Red Crescent, as well as for the logistics Coordination Centre, to enable communication of refugee needs in real time.
Al Salama camp is the humanitarian aid main coordination point in the border area of Aleppo. Beyond the 15,000 refugees in Al Salama, this humanitarian aid also serves hundreds of thousands of Syrians who are not in camps. The Coordination Centre reinforces medical support, food and basic goods distribution up to Aleppo.
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
