(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has joined a high-powered public-private coalition to transform refugee settlements into digitally-connected communities. The coalition brings together more than two dozen organizations who will introduce internet and mobile connectivity, access to clean, efficient energy, and digital financial tools for communities in Kenya and Uganda, and later bring similar services to other refugee hosting countries around the world.
Internet, financial tools, energy
The coalition is led by credit card giant MasterCard and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Its members/partners include the Danish Refugee Council, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Microsoft and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
“The LWF is proud to work with so many dedicated and professional partners in the Smart Communities Coalition,” said Lennart Hernander, Djibouti program representative in the LWF’s World Service-Kenya.
“The LWF has supported refugees in Kakuma for more than 25 years. We were among the first few partners present on the ground when the ‘Lost Boys’ from Sudan started to arrive,” he added.
