FINDING KAKUMA

Kakuma refugee camp, NW KenyaEstablished in 1991Over 193,000 refugees53% are from South Sudan, mainly Nuer

12,700 South Sudanese children are registered as unaccompanied (UNHCR)

LIEVEN CORTHOUTS

DISCOVERY

To help refugees in Kakuma find missing relatives through a web application which refugees are both involved in designing and, by its design, are given choice and self-determinism

PRINCIPLES OF THE FIND ME APP

CHILD SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT

COMMUNITY-LED, COMMUNITY-DRIVEN KEEP IT SIMPLE

● Minimise human interaction

● Only store necessary data● Secure data storage

● Concept originated in the community

● Community to facilitate in data entry

● Idea will spread through word of mouth and through community establishments

● Limited data capture validation

● Engaging, simple user interface

● Technology and services in line with Kakuma capabilities

DISCOVERY INSIGHTSLow level of literacy and technical ability for South Sudanese refugees

Refugees are usually familiar with SMS based services, such as M-Pesa

Unaccompanied children often arrive in a guardianship arrangement

Smartphone usage is growing in the camp; everyone knows someone with a smartphone

Facebook and WhatsApp are popular amongst smartphone users

Given the prevalence of unaccompanied children from South Sudan, the primary focus would be the population of South Sudanese refugees

PERSONAS

CHUOL8 year old Nuer boy from South Sudan who lives in Kakuma with a guardian

His goal is to let his mother know where he is

Low English literacy and technical ability

Very playful

His guardian could decide that she can no longer care for him, making him vulnerable to gangs

BENCEE20 year old South Sudanese teacher who can act as a facilitator, speaks Nuer, English and Swahili

Lived in Kakuma for 3 years, good level of literacy and smartphone awareness

Gained credibility within Nuer community in Kakuma, has a goal to help others

May wish to leave Kakuma, or could lose interest in the facilitator role due to conflicting priorities

INVISION PROTOTYPE

USER TESTING

Confirmed that Somalis and Ethiopians are sufficiently tech

savvy to understand Find Me

Nearly all South Sudanese struggled with navigational

patterns and the wording of questions, and would need a

facilitator

Iterative updates to the flow and questions, with Lieven retesting

each new version

UI was adapted to the point it was understood by smartphone aware

refugees

SECOND ITERATION

REUNIFICATION ECOSYSTEM

?SNAPSHOT

LESSONS

Establishing a culture’s relationship with technology is essential - be prepared to trial a number of ideas

Stopping is not necessarily failure: think alternative success models

Any example of: ● A changed practice● New business model● Or new technology

can be disruptive in the humanitarian space but must be facilitated by a shared write up

Insights into technology, UX and typical organisational challenges allow the discovery of new partnership opportunities

THANK YOU