Charities and Businesses Help Refugees get Online

Charities and businesses are bridging the digital gap for newly-arrived Afghans in the UK.

11:57 26 November 2021

Organisations and businesses are now stepping up to help bridge the digital gap for newly-arrived afghans in the UK. Their goal is to ensure that evacuees from Taliban rule are able to get online, access education and contact loved ones as soon as possible. 

 

Krish Kandiah, who helps Afghans Welcome, a coalition of Christian charities helping newly arrived Afghans settle in the UK, said: “It’s absolutely vital for these families to have access to good digital equipment,”

 

“Using a smartphone is the only way they can really stay in touch with their family [back home].”

 

The coalition has teamed up with Vodafone to deliver 5G-enabled tablets and smartphones to Afghan families. Other companies who have joined the initiative include British food retailer Tesco and British mobile operator Lycamobile. 

 

Emily Knox, head of a programme at the Red Cross which helps migrants with family tracing and refugees with family reunification, said: “What we found … is that when people are separated from their loved ones, it’s really hard for them to integrate. Someone said to us before, ‘Physically I’m in the UK’, but mentally … they’re with their separated loved one.”