SMS

As part of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) Champion for Children Campaign, Afroes has created an SMS reporting line for increased public engagement in the campaign.

The reporting platform – built using the Ushahidi engine (a crowdsourcing tool that generates geospatial data based on information submitted online and via mobile) – encourages the public to submit information about child protection in their community, both positive projects and sensitive incident reports, which are passed on to the most relevant child protection agency to take action. Reports can be submitted online at ChampionsForChildren.org.za or by SMS to 39646. Afroes has found that regarding the reporting of sensitive cases by family members and neighbors, the instant and non-intrusive nature of SMS makes for an easy access way to convert knowledge of an abuse into action.

The Afroes SMS crisis line was originally set up to mobilize communities and individuals across the country to encourage them to easily connect with the campaign and become Champions. Through this type of report Afroes is building an inventory of the more informal child protection projects that are happening nationwide. However, through the detailed analysis of reports, Afroes is also able to quantify the strengths and weaknesses in the current child protection system — and thus build an advocacy tool for once the campaign is over, that takes into account the types of abuses happening, where reports are coming from and who is most likely to be sending them.