Mobile Phones Deliver Food to Iraqi Refugees |
30-Oct-09 |
A pilot project in Damascus has begun distributing WFP food vouchers in the form of mobile phone text messages to Iraqi refugees. It’s believed to be the first such scheme in the world. A text message arrives on Haifa’s phone and for this Iraqi refugee in Syria, it’s a rare piece of good news – a message from WFP enabling her to go shopping in a local store. As part of a ground-breaking pilot project, she is receiving food vouchers electronically over her phone, which she can then spend in selected government-run shops. Instead of travelling to a distribution centre and struggling back with a two-month ration of food, she can now pick and choose to buy what she wants, when she wants. “I ran out of savings and became totally dependent on WFP’s in-kind donations,” said Haifa, pictured.* “When I learned about the voucher project, I felt blessed! Now, I can have cheese, rice and canned fish again,” she said. Refugees can buy items such as cheese and eggs that are difficult to transport and could not normally be included in a conventional aid basket... read more |
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